Ignition of hydrogen–methane–air mixtures over Pd foil at atmospheric pressure

The ignition temperature of a mixture of 40% H₂ in air over Pd (70°C, 1 atm) is ∼200°C lower than that over a Pt surface (260°C, 1 atm). In addition, Pd foil ignites mixtures (30–60% H₂ + 70–40% CH₄)_stoich + air; Pt foil cannot ignite these up to 450°C. The effective activation energy of ignition over Pd was estimated at ∼3.5kcalmol⁻¹.