Oh SK  Seong MJ  Jeon JK

Vol. 27,  No. 1, pp. 9-16, Mar.  2021
10.7464/ksct.2021.27.1.9

N2 purification Oxygen removal Copper catalyst Co-precipitation method Cu-ZnO/Al2O3

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Since the active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) encapsulation process is very vulnerable to moisture and oxygen, high-purity nitrogen with minimal moisture and oxygen must be used. In this study, a copper-based catalyst used to remove oxygen from nitrogen in the AMOLED encapsulation process was optimized. Two-component and three-component catalysts composed of CuO, Al2O3, or ZnO were prepared through a co-precipitation method. The prepared catalysts were characterized by using BET, XRD, TPR, and XRF analysis. In order to verify the oxygen removal performance of the catalyst, several catalytic reactions were conducted in a fixed bed reactor, and the corresponding oxygen contents were measured through an oxygen analyzer. In addition, reusability of the catalysts was proven through repetitive regeneration. The properties and oxygen removal capacity of the catalysts prepared with CuO and Al2O3 ratios of 6 : 4, 7 : 3, and 8 : 2 were compared. The number of active sites of the catalyst with a ratio of CuO and Al2O3 of 8 : 2 was the highest among the 2-component catalysts. Moreover, the reducibility of the catalyst with a ratio of CuO and Al2O3 of 8 : 2 was the best as it had the highest CuO dispersion. As a result, the oxygen removal ability of the catalyst with a ratio of CuO and Al2O3 of 8 : 2 was the best among the 2-component catalysts. The best oxygen removal capacity was obtained when 2wt% of ZnO was added to the sub-optimized catalyst (i.e., CuO : Al2O3 =8 : 2) probably due to its outstanding reducibility. Furthermore, the optimized catalyst kept its performance during a couple of regeneration tests.