An in situ set up for the detection of CO2 from catalytic CO oxidation by using planar laser-induced fluorescence

We report the first experiment carried out on an in situ setup, which allows for detection of CO2 from catalytic CO oxidation close to a model catalyst under realistic reaction conditions by the means of planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) in the mid-infrared spectral range. The onset of the catalytic reaction as a function of temperature was followed by PLIF in a steady state flow reactor. After taking into account the self-absorption of CO2, a good agreement between the detected CO2 fluorescence signal and the CO2 mass spectrometry signal was shown. The observed difference to previously measured onset temperatures for the catalytic ignition is discussed and the potential impact of IR-PLIF as a detection technique in catalysis is outlined. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4711130]