Migration of cations and shell functionalization for Cu-Ce-La/SSZ-13@ZSM-5: The contribution to activity and hydrothermal stability in the selective catalytic reduction reaction

Coaxial 3D Printing of Zeolite-Based Core-Shell Monolithic Cu-SSZ-13@SiO2 Catalysts for Diesel Exhaust Treatment

Core-shell catalysts with functional shells can increase the activity and stability of the catalysts in selective catalytic reduction of NOx with ammoniax. However, the conventional approaches based on multistep fabrication for core-shell structures encounter persistent restrictions regarding strict synthesis conditions and limited design flexibility. Herein, a facile coaxial 3D printing strategy is for the first time developed to construct zeolite-based core-shell monolithic catalysts with interconnected honeycomb structures, in which the hydrophilic noncompact silica serves as shell and Cu-SSZ-13 zeolite acts as core. Compared to a Cu-SSZ-13 monolith which suffers from the interfacial diffusion, the SiO2 shell layer can increase the accessibility of active sites over Cu-SSZ-13@SiO2, resulting in a 10-20% higher NO conversion at200-550 °C under 300 000 cm3 g-1 h-1. Meanwhile, a thicker SiO2 shell enhances the hydrothermal stability of the aged catalyst by inhibiting the dealumination and the formation of CuOx. Other representative monolithic catalysts with different topological zeolites as shell and diverse metal oxides as the core can be also realized by this coaxial 3D printing. This strategy allows multiple porous materials to be directly integrated, which allows for flexible design and fabrication of various core-shell monolithic catalysts with customized functionalities.

Recent advances in core-shell structured catalysts for low-temperature NH3-SCR of NOx

Ammonia selective catalytic reduction (NH₃-SCR) of nitrogen oxides is an effective and well-established technology for NO_x removal, but current commercial denitrification catalysts based on V₂O₅-WO₃/TiO₂ have some obvious disadvantages, including narrow operating temperature windows, toxicity, poor hydrothermal stability, and unsatisfied SO₂/H₂O tolerance. To overcome these drawbacks, it is imperative to investigate new types of highly efficient catalysts. In order to design catalysts with outstanding selectivity, activity, and anti-poisoning ability, core-shell structured materials have been widely applied in the NH₃-SCR reaction, which exhibits numerous advantages including the large surface area, the strong synergy interaction of core-shell materials, the confinement effect, and the shielding effect from the shell layer to protect the core. This review summarizes recent developments of core-shell structured catalysts for NH₃-SCR, including basic classification, synthesis methods, and a detailed description of the performance and mechanisms of each type of catalyst. It is hoped that the review will stimulate future developments in NH₃-SCR technology, leading to novel catalyst designs with improved denitrification performance.

Effective reduction of nitric oxide over a core-shell Cu-SAPO-34@Fe-MOR zeolite catalyst

In this study, a core-shell catalyst of Cu-SAPO-34@Fe-MOR was successfully prepared through a silica-sol adhesion method, and its performance for selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide by NH₃ (NH₃-SCR) was evaluated in detail. The Fe-MOR coating has not only increased the high-temperature activity and broadened the reaction temperature window of Cu-SAPO-34 to a large extent, but also increased the hydrothermal stability of Cu-SAPO-34 markedly. It is demonstrated that a strong synergistic interaction effect exists between Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions and promotes the redox cycle and oxidation-reduction ability of copper ions, which greatly accelerates the catalytic performance of the core-shell Cu-SAPO-34@Fe-MOR catalyst. Abundant isolated Cu²⁺ ions and Fe³⁺ ions on the ion exchange sites performing NO _x reduction at low and high temperature region lead to the broad reaction temperature window of Cu-SAPO-34@Fe-MOR. In addition, more weakly adsorbed NO _x species formed and the increased number of Lewis acid sites may also contribute to the higher catalytic performance of Cu-SAPO-34@Fe-MOR. On the other hand, the better hydrothermal ageing stability of Cu-SAPO-34@Fe-MOR is related to its lighter structural collapse, fewer acidic sites lost, more active components (Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺) maintained, and more monodentate nitrate species formed in the core-shell catalyst after hydrothermal ageing. Last, the mechanism study has found that both Langmuir-Hinshelwood ("L-H") and Eley-Rideal ("E-R") mechanisms play an essential role in the catalytic process of Cu-SAPO-34@Fe-MOR, and constitute another reason for its higher activity compared with that of Cu-SAPO-34 (only "L-H" mechanism).

Recent progress in performance optimization of Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst for selective catalytic reduction of NOx

Nitrogen oxides (NO_x), which are the major gaseous pollutants emitted by mobile sources, especially diesel engines, contribute to many environmental issues and harm human health. Selective catalytic reduction of NO_x with NH₃ (NH₃-SCR) is proved to be one of the most efficient techniques for reducing NO_x emission. Recently, Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst has been recognized as a promising candidate for NH₃-SCR catalyst for reducing diesel engine NO_x emissions due to its wide active temperature window and excellent hydrothermal stability. Despite being commercialized as an advanced selective catalytic reduction catalyst, Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst still confronts the challenges of low-temperature activity and hydrothermal aging to meet the increasing demands on catalytic performance and lifetime. Therefore, numerous studies have been dedicated to the improvement of NH₃-SCR performance for Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst. In this review, the recent progress in NH₃-SCR performance optimization of Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts is summarized following three aspects: 1) modifying the Cu active sites; 2) introducing the heteroatoms or metal oxides; 3) regulating the morphology. Meanwhile, future perspectives and opportunities of Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts in reducing diesel engine NO_x emissions are discussed.

Unveiling Secondary-Ion-Promoted Catalytic Properties of Cu-SSZ-13 Zeolites for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx

The incorporation of secondary metal ions into Cu-exchanged SSZ-13 zeolites could improve their catalytic properties in selective catalytic reduction of NO_x with ammonia (NH₃-SCR), but their essential roles remain unclear at the molecular level. Herein, a series of Cu-Sm-SSZ-13 zeolites have been prepared by ion-exchanging Sm ions followed by Cu ions, which exhibit superior NH₃-SCR performance. The NO conversion of Cu-Sm-SSZ-13 is nearly 10% higher than that of conventional Cu-SSZ-13 (175-250 °C) after hydrothermal ageing, showing an enhanced low-temperature activity. The Sm ions are found to occupy the six-membered rings (6MRs) of SSZ-13 by X-ray diffraction Rietveld refinement and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. The Sm ions at 6MRs can facilitate the formation of more active [ZCu²⁺(OH)]⁺ ions at 8MRs, as revealed by temperature-programmed reduction of hydrogen. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that there exists electron transfer from Sm³⁺ to [ZCu²⁺(OH)]⁺ ions, which promotes the activity of [ZCu²⁺(OH)]⁺ ions by decreasing the activation energy of the formation of intermediates (NH₄NO₂ and H₂NNO). Meanwhile, the electrostatic interaction between Sm³⁺ and [ZCu²⁺(OH)]⁺ results in a high-reaction energy barrier for transforming [ZCu²⁺(OH)]⁺ ions into inactive CuO_x species, thus enhancing the stability of [ZCu²⁺(OH)]⁺ ions. The influence of the ion-exchanging sequence of Sm and Cu ions into SSZ-13 is further investigated by combining both experiments and theoretical calculations. This work provides a mechanistic insight of secondary ions in regulating the distribution, activity, and stability of Cu active sites, which is helpful for the design of high-performance Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts for the NH₃-SCR reaction.

Exploring the optimal ratio of elemental components of the Cu/SSZ-13 framework: the reformation of NH3-SCR properties

The effect of the ratio of skeleton elements on the performance of the Cu/SSZ-13 catalyst was studied.

Atomic layer deposition of silica to improve the high-temperature hydrothermal stability of Cu-SSZ-13 for NH3 SCR of NOx

The improvement of stability is a crucial and challenging issue for industrial catalyst, which affects not only the service time but also the cost of catalyst. This is especially prominent for that applied in harsh environment atmospheres, such as the exhaust of diesel vehicles. Herein, we reported a new strategy to improve the high-temperature hydrothermal stability of Cu-SSZ-13, which is a promising catalyst for the treatment of exhaust emitted from diesel vehicles through the NH₃-SCR NO_x route. Different from that reported in literature, we managed to improve the high-temperature hydrothermal stability of Cu-SSZ-13 by coating the surface with a nanolayer of stable SiO₂ material using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. The coating of SiO₂ layers effectively suppressed the leaching of alumina from the SSZ-13 molecular sieve even after the hydrothermal aging at 800 °C for 16 h with 12.5% water in air. Meanwhile, the ultra-thin SiO₂ nanolayer does not block the pores of zeolites and affect the catalytic activity of Cu-SSZ-13 contribute to the superiority of the ALD technology.

A review of Mn-based catalysts for low-temperature NH3-SCR: NOx removal and H2O/SO2 resistance

The development of high-efficiency catalysts is the key to the low-temperature NH₃-SCR technology. The introduction of SO₂ and H₂O will lead to poisoning and deactivation of the catalysts, which severely limits the development and application of NH₃-SCR technology. This review introduces the necessity of NO_x removal, explains the mechanisms of H₂O and SO₂ poisoning on NH₃-SCR catalysts, highlights the Mn-based catalysts of different active metals and supports and their resistance to H₂O and SO₂, and analyses the relationship between metal modification, selection of support and preparation method, morphology and structure design and SO₂/H₂O resistance. Given the current problems, this review points out the future research focus of Mn-based catalysts and also puts forward corresponding countermeasures to solve the existing problems.