Cu-Co mixed oxide catalysts for the total oxidation of toluene and propane

Tailored bimetallic Zn/Ni and Zn/Ag MCM-41 photocatalysts for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic tetracycline degradation

Novel bimetallic-doped-MCM-41(Mobil Composition of Matter No. 41) (Zn/Ni-MCM-41 (ZNM)) and (Zn/Ag-MCM-41 (ZAM)) catalysts were synthesized and characterized for their structural, textural, morphological, and optical properties. XRD analysis confirmed metal incorporation into the MCM-41 framework, while N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms indicated a decrease in specific surface area (1210 in pure MCM-41 to 722.86 and 700.36 m2/g for ZNM and ZAM, respectively) due to partial pore filling. TEM images verified this finding. Boosted absorption extending into the visible light region was detected in the metal incorporated (ZNM and ZAM) samples with additional band gaps, related to transitions in Zn2+, Ag+ and Ni2+ ions. Photoluminescence studies revealed efficient charge carrier separation in ZNM and ZAM. Both catalysts exhibited superior tetracycline (TC) removal from aqueous solution with efficiency (95.59% and 95.30% within one hour for ZNM and ZAM, respectively) with pronouncing visible light photocatalytic capability compared to pure MCM-41. The degradation process followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of ZNM and ZAM is attributed to the synergistic effects of metal incorporation, increased light absorption, and efficient charge carrier dynamics. Additionally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism for degradation of TC over ZNM and ZAM has been proposed and involvement of superoxide radicals (O2•-) and holes (h+) as reactive species is elucidated by radical trapping experiments. A distinct pH-dependent trend was observed in TC degradation efficiency using the ZAM photocatalyst. The efficiency gradually increased with increasing pH until reaching a maximum at pH 7, followed by a decline at higher pH values. These results demonstrate the potential of ZNM and ZAM as promising materials for removal of tetracycline antibiotic from water.

Toluene Oxidation: CO2 vs Benzaldehyde: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Toluene is a common and significant volatile organic compound (VOC). Although it finds extensive application in various industrial processes (chemical manufacturing, paint and adhesive production, and as a solvent), it creates a huge environmental impact when emitted freely into the atmosphere. Two solutions were found to mitigate the emission of this pollutant: the total oxidation to CO2 and H2O and the selective oxidation into benzaldehyde. This review discusses the two main alternatives for tackling this problem: converting the toluene into carbon dioxide by total oxidation or into benzaldehyde by selective oxidation. It presents new catalytic advances, new trends, and the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.

Constructing surface oxygen defects at CuO-Co3O4 interface to boost toluene oxidation over CuO/Co3O4 catalysts

As a typical heterogeneous catalytic process, the catalytic combustion of toluene over Co3O4-based catalysts is strongly depends on the surface properties of catalysts, especially the concentration of surface oxygen defects. Here, a novel way was proposed to construct chemically bonded CuO-Co3O4 interface by chemical deposition of CuO onto Co3O4 nanoflowers. The interfacial refinement effect between CuO and Co3O4 support disrupted the ordered atomic arrangement and created countless unsaturated coordination sites at CuO-Co3O4 interface, inducing a significant generation of surface oxygen defects. Surface-rich oxygen vacancies enhanced the capacity of 20%CuO/Co3O4-R to adsorb and activate oxygen species. Benefiting from this, 90 % toluene conversion was reached at 228 °C over 20%CuO/Co3O4-R, which was much lower than that over 20%CuO/Co3O4-S prepared by impregnation method and CuO/Co3O4-mix obtained by mechanically mixing way. In-situ DRIFTS analysis revealed that toluene could be directly decomposed into benzaldehyde at the highly defective CuO-Co3O4 interface, leading to toluene oxidation following the path of toluene → benzaldehyde → benzoate → maleic anhydride → water and carbon dioxide over 20%CuO/Co3O4-R, which was significantly different from decomposition mechanism over 20%CuO/Co3O4-S. Additionally, 20%CuO/Co3O4-R displayed terrific recyclability and outstanding stability, showing good application potential.

Activation of Co-O bond in (110) facet exposed Co3O4 by Cu doping for the boost of propane catalytic oxidation

Defects engineering in metal oxide is an important avenue for the promotion of VOCs catalytic oxidation. Herein, the influence of crystal facet of Co₃O₄ is first investigated for the propane oxidation. An intelligent Cu doping is subsequently performed in the most active (110) facet exposed Co₃O₄ catalyst. The optimized Cu-Co₃O₄-110-3 catalyst exhibits a prominently enhanced activity with propane conversion rate of 1.9 μmol g^-1 s^-1 at reaction temperature of 192 °C and the propane mass space velocity of 60,000 mL g^-1 h^-1, about 2.4 times that of the pristine Co₃O₄. Systematic experimental characterizations (XAS, EPR, Raman, TPR, XPS, etc.) combined with density functional theory calculations point out that the incorporated Cu could increase the electrophilicity of nearby O atom and implant beneficial defect structures (lattice distortion, coordination unsaturation, abundant oxygen vacancies, etc.), which could significantly activate Co-O bond in Co₃O₄, leading to the facilitated generation of active oxygen species as well as promoted oxidation ability. This study could set an illuminating paradigm for the boost of the intrinsic oxidation activity by the precise defect construction in Co₃O₄ catalyst, which will help drive ahead the pursuit of non-precious metal catalyst for VOCs abatement.

Weak Metal-Support Interaction over CuO/TiO2 Catalyst Governed Low-Temperature Toluene Oxidation

Regulating the metal-support interaction is essential for obtaining highly efficient catalysts for the catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this work, CuO-TiO₂(coll) and CuO/TiO₂(imp) with different metal-support interactions were prepared via colloidal and impregnation methods, respectively. The results demonstrated that CuO/TiO₂(imp) has higher low-temperature catalytic activity, with a 50% removal of toluene at 170 °C compared to CuO-TiO₂(coll). Additionally, the normalized reaction rate (6.4 × 10^-6 mol·g^-1·s^-1) at 160 °C over CuO/TiO₂(imp) was almost four-fold higher than that over CuO-TiO₂(coll) (1.5 × 10^-6 mol·g^-1·s^-1), and the apparent activation energy value (27.9 ± 2.9 kJ·mol^-1) was lower. Systematic structure and surface analysis results disclosed that abundant Cu²⁺ active species and numerous small CuO particles were presented over CuO/TiO₂(imp). Owing to the weak interaction of CuO and TiO₂ in this optimized catalyst, the concentration of reducible oxygen species associated with the superior redox property could be enhanced, thus significantly contributing to its low-temperature catalytic activity for toluene oxidation. This work is helpful in exploring the influence of metal-support interaction on the catalytic oxidation of VOCs and developing low-temperature catalysts for VOCs catalytic oxidation.

Multiple Interface Coupling in Ultrathin Mn-based Composites for Superior Catalytic Oxidation: Implications of Interface Coupling on Structural Defects

Manganese oxide has been recognized as one of the most promising gaseous heterogeneous catalysts due to its low cost, environmental friendliness, and high catalytic oxidation performance. The modulation of the interfacial coupling effect of manganese oxides by chemical means is considered a critical and effective way to improve the catalytic performance. Herein, a novel one-step synthetic strategy of highly-efficient ultrathin manganese-based catalysts is proposed through optimal regulation of metal/manganese oxide multi-interfacial coupling. Carbon monoxide (CO) and propane (C₃H₈) oxidation are employed as probe reactions to investigate the structure-catalytic mechanism - catalytic performance relationship. The ultrathin manganese (Mn)-based catalyst exhibits superior low-temperature catalytic activity with a 90% conversion of CO/C₃H₈ realized at 106℃ and 350℃. Subsequently, the effect of "interfacial effect" on the intrinsic properties of manganese oxides is revealed. The ultrathin appearance of two-dimensional (2D) manganese dioxide (MnO₂) nanosheets changes the binding force in the vertical direction, thus resulting in an increase in the average manganese-oxygen (Mn-O) bond length and exposing more surface defects. Besides, the introduction of Copper (Cu) species into the catalyst further weakens the Mn-O bond and promotes the generation of oxygen vacancies, which subsequently enhances the oxygen migration rate. This study provides new insights into the optimal design of transition metal oxide interfacial assemblies for efficient catalytic reactions.

Catalytic Combustion of Propane over Ce-Doped Lanthanum Borate Loaded with Various 3d Transition Metals

Ce-doped LaBO3 (Ce0.05La0.95BO3) and a corresponding incorporation with 3d transition metals (TMs) were prepared and evaluated for eliminating propane. Our results showed the catalytic activity toward propane combustion has a close relationship with the loaded TMs, which promoted oxygen vacancies density and further enhanced the reduction and acidity of this material. This eventually led to 90% propane conversion at 718 K for a Cu-loaded Ce0.05La0.95BO3 catalyst. During 10 h of catalytic propane oxidation, the propane-elimination rate was maintained very well, with no degradation of the catalyst.

Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon from Biomass with Efficient Toluene Adsorption and Superior Catalytic Performance

The chemical composition and surface groups of the carbon support affect the adsorption capacity of toluene. To investigate the effect of catalyst substrate on the catalytic performance, two different plant biomasses, banana peel and sugarcane peel, were used as carbon precursors to prepare porous carbon catalyst supports (Cba, Csu, respectively) by a chemical activation method. After decorating PtCo₃ nanoparticles onto both carbon supports (Cba, Csu), the PtCo₃-su catalyst demonstrated better catalytic performance for toluene oxidation (T₁₀₀ = 237 °C) at a high space velocity of 12,000 h^-1. The Csu support possessed a stronger adsorption capacity of toluene (542 mg g^-1), resulting from the synergistic effect of micropore volume and nitrogen-containing functional groups, which led to the PtCo₃-su catalyst exhibiting a better catalytic performance. Moreover, the PtCo₃-su catalyst also showed excellent stability, good water resistance properties, and high recyclability, which can be used as a promising candidate for practical toluene catalytic combustion.

Soot Combustion over Cu-Co Spinel Catalysts: The Intrinsic Effects of Precursors on Catalytic Activity

In this work, a series of CuCo₂O₄-x (x = N, A and C) catalysts were synthesized using different metal salt precursors by urea hydrothermal method for catalytic soot combustion. The effect of CuCo₂O₄-x catalysts on soot conversion and CO₂ selectivity in both loose and tight contact mode was investigated. The CuCo₂O₄-N catalyst exhibited outstanding catalytic activity with the characteristic temperatures (T₁₀, T₅₀ and T₉₀) of 451 °C, 520 °C and 558 °C, respectively, while the CO₂ selectivity reached 98.8% during the reaction. With the addition of NO, the soot combustion was further accelerated over all catalysts. Compared with the loose contact mode, the soot conversion was improved in the tight contact mode. The CuCo₂O₄-N catalysts showed better textural properties compared to the CuCo₂O₄-A and CuCo₂O₄-C, such as higher specific surface areas and pore volumes. The XRD results confirmed that the formation of a CuCo₂O₄ crystal phase in all catalysts. However, the CuO crystal phase only presented in CuCo₂O₄-N and CuCo₂O₄-A. The relative contents of Cu²⁺, Co³⁺ and O_ads on the surface of CuCo₂O₄-x (x = N, A and C) catalysts were analyzed by XPS. The CuCo₂O₄-N catalyst displayed the highest relative content of Cu²⁺, Co³⁺ and O_ads. The activity of catalytic soot combustion showed a good correlation with the order of the relative contents of Cu²⁺, Co³⁺ and O_ads. Additionally, the CuCo₂O₄-N catalyst exhibited lower reduction temperature compared to the CuCo₂O₄-A and CuCo₂O₄-C. The cycle tests clarified that the copper-cobalt spinel catalyst obtained good stability. In addition, based on the Mars-van Krevelen mechanism, the process of catalytic soot combustion was described combined with the electron transfer process and the role of oxygen species over CuCo₂O₄ spinel catalysts.

Bulk Co3O4 for Methane Oxidation: Effect of the Synthesis Route on Physico-Chemical Properties and Catalytic Performance

The synthesis of bulk pure Co3O4 catalysts by different routes has been examined in order to obtain highly active catalysts for lean methane combustion. Thus, eight synthesis methodologies, which were selected based on their relatively low complexity and easiness for scale-up, were evaluated. The investigated procedures were direct calcination of two different cobalt precursors (cobalt nitrate and cobalt hydroxycarbonate), basic grinding route, two basic precipitation routes with ammonium carbonate and sodium carbonate, precipitation-oxidation, solution combustion synthesis and sol-gel complexation. A commercial Co3O4 was also used as a reference. Among the several examined methodologies, direct calcination of cobalt hydroxycarbonate (HC sample), basic grinding (GB sample) and basic precipitation employing sodium carbonate as the precipitating agent (CC sample) produced bulk catalysts with fairly good textural and structural properties, and remarkable redox properties, which were found to be crucial for their good performance in the oxidation of methane. All catalysts attained full conversion and 100% selectivity towards CO2 formation at a temperature of 600 °C while operating at 60,000 h−1. Among these, the CC catalyst was the only one that achieved a specific reaction rate higher than that of the reference commercial Co3O4 catalyst.

Promoting Effect of Palladium on ZnAl2O4-Supported Catalysts Based on Cobalt or Copper Oxide on the Activity for the Total Propene Oxidation

Palladium-modified Co-ZnAland Cu-ZnAl materials were used and found active for the catalytic oxidation of propene and propane. According to the results obtained by XRD, TPR and XPS, the zinc aluminate-supported phases are oxide phases, Co₃O₄, CuO and PdO_x for Co-ZnAl, Cu-ZnAl and Pd-ZnAl catalysts, respectively. These reducible oxide species present good catalytic activity for the oxidation reactions. The addition of palladium to Co-ZnAl or Cu-ZnAl samples promoted the reducibility of the system and, consequently, produced a synergic effect which enhanced the activity for the propene oxidation. The PdCo-ZnAl sample was the most active and exhibited highly dispersed PdO_x particles and surface structural defects. In addition, it exhibited good catalytic stability. The H₂ pre-treated PdCu-ZnAl, PdCo-ZnAl and Pd-ZnAl samples showed higher activity than the original oxide catalysts, evidencing the important role of the oxidation state of the species, mainly of the palladium species, on the catalytic activity for the propene combustion. The synergic effect between metal transition oxides and PdO_x could not be observed for the propane oxidation.