Selective Ru Adsorption on SnO2/CeO2 Mixed Oxides for Efficient Destruction of Multicomponent Volatile Organic Compounds: From Laboratory to Practical Possibility

Regulating the Electronic Metal-Support Interaction of Single-Atom Ruthenium Catalysts for Boosting Chlorobenzene Oxidation

Developing highly active single-atom catalysts (SACs) with excellent chlorine resistance for efficient oxidation of harmful chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) is a great challenge. Tuning the electronic metal-support interaction (EMSI) is viable for promoting catalytic performances of SACs. Herein, an effective strategy of modulating the EMSI in Ru1/CeO2 SACs by thermal treatment control is proposed, which distinctly enhances the activities of the catalyst for chlorobenzene (CB) oxidation and chlorine conversion, accomplishing total CB degradation at nearly 260 °C. Detailed characterization and theoretical calculations reveal that the EMSI induces electron transfer from Ru to CeO2, optimizing the coordination and electronic structure of single-atom Ru and accordingly facilitating the adsorption and activation of CB. Moreover, the surface lattice oxygen (Olatt) at the Ru-O-Ce interface is demonstrated as the critical reactive oxygen species, the mobility and reactivity of which are also prompted by the EMSI, leading to the boosted conversion of reaction intermediates. This work sheds light on the effect of EMSI regulation on CVOC catalytic oxidation and provides guidance on fabricating high-efficiency SACs for environmental catalysis.

Engineering Subnanometric Electronic Interaction between Ru and Mn in Zeolite Boosts Catalytic Oxidation of Dichloromethane

Designing catalysts with both activity and stability remains a grand challenge for the removal of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) by catalytic oxidation. Herein, the Ru-Mn subnanometric species encapsulated in ZSM-5 zeolite (RuMn@Z) was synthesized. It shows that the 90% conversion of dichloromethane is as low as 320 °C, which is significantly lower than that of Ru@Z (350 °C) and the impregnation catalyst (RuMn/Z, 355 °C). Importantly, the RuMn@Z catalyst exhibits excellent high-temperature resistance (800 °C for 10 h), water resistance, long-term stability, and cyclic stability. Different from the RuMn/Z with nanoscale metal interaction, Ru and Mn species in RuMn@Z have strong electronic interaction on the subnanometric scale due to the confinement effect of zeolite. As the electronic structure regulator, the Mn species keeps the Ru species in an electron-deficient state through the Ru-O-Mn bonds, which effectively activates lattice oxygen species and molecular oxygen to participate in the reaction. Moreover, the confinement effect also makes the acid tightly coupled with the redox site, which promotes the rapid conversion of dechlorination products, formates, and other intermediate products. Therefore, this study provides valuable insights into the design of high-performance catalysts for CVOCs removal and other environmental fields.

Investigating the differences of active oxygen species and carbonate species on the surface of Ce0.95M (M = Mn and Zr)0.05O2-δ catalysts prepared by the aerosol method during CO oxidation using operando TPR-DRIFTS-MS

Surface oxygen species and carbonate species play an important role in CO oxidation. However, their essential relationsh with CO oxidation activity remains unclear. In this paper, Ce0.95M (M = Mn and Zr)0.05O2-δ catalysts are selected as the research target and operando TPR-DRIFTS-MS is used to investigate the changes of oxygen species and carbonate species on the catalyst surface. The Ce0.95Mn0.05O2-δ catalyst has the best CO conversion (145 °C) and CO2 selectivity (99%). Operando DRIFTS-MS results show that MO plays a key role on the catalyst surface and can react with CO at low temperatures. Importantly, the high content of MO is conducive to the formation of monodentate carbonate (M-O-CO2) (M-O-CO2 decomposes at 50 °C). As the temperature increases, CeO and M-O-Ce also react with CO and produce M-Ov-Ce (oxygen vacancies). CO can combine with O2 adsorbed on the M-Ov-Ce (M2+-O22-) to form bidentate carbonate (M-O2-CO). The decomposition temperature of M-O2-CO is much higher than that of M-O-CO2, and its existence is the decisive step of CO oxidation. The above results provide a new way to regulate the surface oxygen species and carbonate species of Ce based catalysts in the later stages.

Recent Advances of the Effect of H2O on VOC Oxidation over Catalysts: Influencing Factors, Inhibition/Promotion Mechanisms, and Water Resistance Strategies

Water vapor is a significant component in real volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exhaust gas and has a considerable impact on the catalytic performance of catalysts for VOC oxidation. Important progress has been made in the reaction mechanisms of H2O and water resistance strategies for VOC oxidation in recent years. Despite advancements in catalytic technology, most catalysts still exhibit low activity under humid conditions, presenting a challenge in reducing the adverse effects of H2O on VOC oxidation. To develop water-resistant catalysts, understanding the mechanistic role of H2O and implementing effective water-resistance strategies with influencing factors are imperative. This Perspective systematically summarizes related research on the impact of H2O on VOC oxidation, drawing from over 390 papers published between 2013 and 2024. Five main influencing factors are proposed to clarify their effects on the role of H2O. Five inhibition/promotion mechanisms of H2O are introduced, elucidating their role in the catalytic oxidation of various VOCs. Additionally, different kinds of water resistance strategies are discussed, including the fabrication of hydrophobic materials, the design of specific structures and morphologies, and the introduction of additional elements for catalyst modification. Finally, scientific challenges and opportunities for enhancing the design of efficient and water-resistant catalysts for practical applications in VOC purification are highlighted.

Ultra-efficient Ru and Nb Co-Modified CeO2 Catalysts for Catalytic Oxidation of 1,2-Dichloroethane

The oxidation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds on CeO2 is hindered by its high susceptibility to chlorine poisoning, resulting in a reduced efficiency and stability. In this study, Ru- and Nb-co-modified CeO2 catalysts were designed to achieve excellent activity, stability, and CO2 selectivity in the catalytic oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane (EDC). The formation of Nb-O-Ce bonds was observed to enhance the surface acidic sites, thereby improving HCl selectivity and reducing the production of chlorinated byproducts. Meanwhile, it inhibits the formation of Ru-O-Ce and promotes the generation of highly dispersed RuO2 particles on the surface, enhancing the redox properties and mobility of the surface oxygen, thus increasing CO2 selectivity. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy results revealed that chlorine species preferentially attach to Nb species rather than to oxygen vacancies on the Ru/Nb/CeO2 catalyst. This allows more alkane groups to oxidize to formate on the oxygen vacancies, reducing byproduct concentration. Additionally, the oxidation of alkane groups to carboxylic acids is initiated on the Nb species, completing a comprehensive oxidation process under the synergistic effect of RuO2.

Insights into in situ surface reconstruction in cobalt perovskite oxides for enhanced catalytic activity

An depth understanding of the fundamental interactions between surface termination and catalytic activity is crucial to prompt the properties of functional perovskite materials. The elastic energy due to size mismatch and electrostatic attraction of the charged Sr dopant by positively charged oxygen vacancies induced inert A-site surface enrichment rearrangement for perovskites. Lower temperatures could reduce A-site enrichment, but it is difficult to form perovskite crystals. La0.8Sr0.2CoO3-δ (LSCO) as a model perovskite oxide was modified with additive urea to reduce the crystallization temperature, and suppress Sr segregation. The LSCO catalysts with 600 °C annealing temperature (LSCO-600) exhibited a 19.4-fold reaction reactivity of toluene oxidation than that with 800 °C annealing temperature (LSCO-800). Combined surface-sensitive and depth-resolved techniques for surface and sub-surface analysis, surface Sr enrichment was effectively suppressed due to decreased oxygen vacancy concentration and smaller electrostatic driving force. DFT calculations and in-situ DRIFTs spectra well revealed that tuning the surface composition/termination affected the intrinsic reactivity. The catalyst surface with lower Sr enrichment could easily adsorb toluene, cleave, and decompose benzene rings, thus contributing to toluene degradation to CO2. This work demonstrates a green and efficient way to control surface composition and termination at the atomic scale for higher catalytic activity.

Enhancement of Mineralization Ability and Water Resistance of Vanadium-Based Catalysts for Catalytic Oxidation of Chlorobenzene by Platinum Loading

The design of a catalyst with multifunctional sites is one of the effective methods for low-temperature catalytic oxidation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs). The loss of redox sites and competitive adsorption of H2O prevalent in the treatment of industrial exhaust gases are the main reasons for the weak mineralization ability and poor water vapor resistance of V-based catalysts. In this work, platinum (Pt) is selected to combine with the V/CeO2 catalyst, which provides more redox sites and H2O dissociative activation sites and further enhances its catalytic performance. The results show that PtV/CeO2 achieves 90% of the CO2 yield at 318 °C and maintains excellent catalytic activity rather than continuous deactivation within 15 h after water vapor injection. The formation of Pt-O-V bonds enhances the redox ability and promotes deep oxidation of polychlorinated intermediates, accounting for the significantly improved mineralization ability of PtV/CeO2. The dissociative activation effect of Pt on H2O molecules strengthens the migration and activation of V-adsorbed H2O, precluding V-poisoning and notably improving water resistance. This study lays a solid foundation for the efficient degradation of chlorobenzene under humid conditions.

Weakening Mn-O Bond Strength in Mn-Based Perovskite Catalysts to Enhance Propane Catalytic Combustion

Exploring highly efficient and robust non-noble metal catalysts for VOC abatement is crucial but challenging. Mn-based perovskites are a class of redox catalysts with good thermal stability, but their activity in the catalytic combustion of light alkanes is insufficient. In this work, we modulated the Mn-O bond strength in a Mn-based perovskite via defect engineering, over which the catalytic activity of propane combustion was significantly enhanced. It demonstrates that the oxygen vacancy concentration and the Mn-O bond strength can be efficiently modulated by finely tuning the Ni content in SmNixMn1-xO3 perovskite catalysts (SNxM1-x), which in turn can enhance the redox ability and generate more active oxygen species. The SN0.10M0.90 catalyst with the lowest Mn-O bond strength exhibits the lowest apparent activation energy, over which the propane conversion rate increases by 3.6 times compared to that on the SmMnO3 perovskite catalyst (SM). In addition, a SN0.10M0.90/cordierite monolithic catalyst can also exhibit a remarkable catalytic performance and deliver excellent long-term durability (1000 h), indicating broad prospects in industrial applications. Moreover, the promotional effect of Ni substitution was further unveiled by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This work brings a favorable guidance for the exploration of highly efficient perovskite catalysts for light alkane elimination.

A facile method for preparing the CeMnO3 catalyst with high activity and stability of toluene oxidation: The critical role of small crystal size and Mn3+-Ov-Ce4+ sites

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) cause severe environmental pollution and are potentially toxic to humans who have no defense against exposure. Catalytic oxidation of these compounds has thus become an interesting research topic. In this study, microcrystalline CeMnO3 catalysts were prepared by a precipitant-concentration-induced strategy and evaluated for the catalytic oxidation of toluene/benzene. The effect of crystal size on catalytic performance was confirmed by XRD, TEM, N2 adsorption-desorption, XPS, Raman, H2-TPR, and TPSR. The CeMnO3 catalyst with more Mn3+-Ov-Ce4+ active sites exhibited enhanced VOCs catalytic oxidation performance, lowest active energy, and highest turnover frequency, which was attributed to its larger surface area, lower crystal size, higher low-temperature reducibility, and presence of more oxygen defects. In-situ FTIR results suggested more oxygen vacancies can profoundly promote the conversion of benzoate to maleate species, the rate-determining step of toluene oxidation. The work provides a convenient and efficient strategy to prepare single-metal or multi-metal oxide catalysts with smaller crystal sizes for VOC oxidation or other oxidation reactions.

In Situ Reconstruction of Active Heterointerface for Hydrocarbon Combustion through Thermal Aging over Strontium-Modified Co3O4 Nanocatalyst with Good Sintering Resistance

The issue of catalyst deactivation due to sintering has gained significant attention alongside the rapid advancement of thermal catalysts. In this work, a simple Sr modification strategy was applied to achieve highly active Co3O4-based nanocatalyst for catalytic combustion of hydrocarbons with excellent antisintering feature. With the Co1Sr0.3 catalyst achieving a 90% propane conversion temperature (T90) of only 289 °C at a w8 hly space velocity of 60,000 mL·g-1·h-1, 24 °C lower than that of pure Co3O4. Moreover, the sintering resistance of Co3O4 catalysts was greatly improved by SrCO3 modification, and the T90 over Co1Sr0.3 just increased from 289 to 337 °C after thermal aging at 750 °C for 100 h, while that over pure Co3O4 catalysts increased from 313 to 412 °C. Through strontium modification, a certain amount of SrCO3 was introduced on the Co3O4 catalyst, which can serve as a physical barrier during the thermal aging process and further formation of Sr-Co perovskite nanocrystals, thus preventing the aggregation growth of Co3O4 nanocrystals and generating new active SrCoO2.52-Co3O4 heterointerface. In addition, propane durability tests of the Co1Sr0.3 catalysts showed strong water vapor resistance and stability, as well as excellent low-temperature activity and resistance to sintering in the oxidation reactions of other typical hydrocarbons such as toluene and propylene. This study provides a general strategy for achieving thermal catalysts by perfectly combining both highly low-temperature activity and sintering resistance, which will have great significance in practical applications for replacing precious materials with comparative features.

Efficient Catalytic Elimination of Chlorobenzene Based on the Water Vapor-Promoting Effect within Mn-Based Catalysts: Activity Enhancement and Polychlorinated Byproduct Inhibition

Achieving no or low polychlorinated byproduct selectivity is essential for the chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) degradation, and the positive roles of water vapor may contribute to this goal. Herein, the oxidation behaviors of chlorobenzene over typical Mn-based catalysts (MnO2 and acid-modified MnO2) under dry and humid conditions were fully explored. The results showed that the presence of water vapor significantly facilitates the deep mineralization of chlorobenzene and restrains the formation of Cl2 and dichlorobenzene. This remarkable water vapor-promoting effect was conferred by the MnO2 substrate, which could suitably synergize with the postconstructed acidic sites, leading to good activity, stability, and desirable product distribution of acid-modified MnO2 catalysts under humid conditions. A series of experiments including isotope-traced (D2O and H218O) CB-TPO provided complete insights into the direct involvement of water molecules in chlorobenzene oxidation reaction and attributed the root cause of the water vapor-promoting effect to the proton-rich environment and highly reactive water-source oxygen species rather than to the commonly assumed cleaning effect or hydrogen proton transfer processes (generation of active OOH). This work demonstrates the application potential of Mn-based catalysts in CVOCs elimination under practical application conditions (containing water vapor) and provides the guidance for the development of superior industrial catalysts.

Adsorption Behavior of Multi-Component BTEX on the Synthesized Green Adsorbents Derived from Abelmoschus esculentus L. Waste Residue

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) removal is one of the most common difficulties in air pollution control. They are emitted from several processes, prejudicial to the environment and humans. BTEX leads to various environmental risks, and there is a significant need for a creating process for the complete removal of BTEX from air streams. This study's objective is the multi-component adsorption of BTEX pollutants from an air stream, by synthesizing activated carbons (ACs) under several operations. A lignocellulosic waste biomass, Abelmoschus esculentus L. (AE), was utilized as the precursor for synthesizing activated carbons (AE-ACs), and their surface chemical characteristics were investigated. Optimization processes were examined, and the change in the surface area of AE-ACs was investigated as change of some variables results like activation agent, impregnation ratio, temperature, and activation time. The maximum surface area of 968 m2/g and total pore volume of 0.51 cm3/g were attained at 1:2 impregnation ratio, activation time of 110 min, and activation temperature of 800 °C, under N2 atmosphere. A mixture of BTEX pollutants was employed to consider the effect of humidity (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 wt%) and initial concentrations (from 5 to 300 mg/m3), using a contact time of 120 min at the temperature of 25 °C. Under the studied conditions, the multi-component and single-component BTEX adsorption capacities by HCl-activated carbon, AE-ACH, were specifically achieved to 6.86-51.36 mg/g and 22-93.62 mg/g, respectively. Overall, Abelmoschus esculentus L. was exploited for the synthesis of AE-ACH which was successfully utilized for efficient BTEX capture from a polluted air stream.

Expediting Toluene Combustion by Harmonizing the Ce-O Strength over Co-Doped CeZr Oxide Catalysts

Low-temperature catalytic degradation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by enhancing the activity of non-precious metal catalysts has always been the focus of attention. The mineralization of aromatic VOCs requires the participation of a large number of oxygen atoms, so the activation of oxygen species is crucial in the degradation reaction. Herein, we originally adjust the Ce-O bond strength in CeZr oxide catalysts by cobalt doping to promote the activation of oxygen species, thus improving the toluene degradation performance while maintaining high stability. Subsequent characterizations and theoretical calculations demonstrate that the weakening of the Ce-O bond strength increases the oxygen vacancy content, promotes the activation of oxygen species, and enhances the redox ability of the catalysts. This strategy also promotes the activation of toluene and accelerates the depletion of intermediate species. This study will contribute a strategy to enhance the activation ability of oxygen species in non-noble metal oxide catalysts, thereby enhancing the degradation performance of VOCs.