The present invention relates to a catalyst for the synthesis of chlorine dioxide. The catalyst is preferably a Pd/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 or palladium and another platinum group metal (e.g., Pd+Pt/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) or palladium and a Group IB metal (e.g., Pd+Au/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) catalyst containing La.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Nd.sub.2 O.sub.3 which has increased activity and a slower rate of deactivation.
Chlorine dioxide is known to act as a disinfecting or sterilizing agent for solutions and devices (e.g., contact lenses). Chlorine dioxide is generally produced from sodium chlorite solutions by catalysts (e.g., catalysts containing noble metals, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,096). However, known catalysts have the disadvantage of becoming greatly deactivated within a matter of days.