NO Selective Catalytic Reduction over Atom-Pair Active Sites Accelerated via In Situ NO Oxidation

Unexpected Redox Role of WO3 in V2O5-WO3/TiO2 Catalysts for Selective Reduction of NO by Forming V-W Dinuclear Sites

Promoters can greatly improve the activity of catalysts; however, the mechanism by which they interact with the primary catalyst to enhance catalytic activity is not always clear. It has been widely demonstrated that WO3 in V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts acts as a promoter to enhance the surface acidity and regulate the dispersion of active V2O5 species, while it is believed that the redox process takes place entirely at the V sites in the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR). Here, by combining in situ spectroscopic measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we validate that the WO3 directly participates in the oxidative activation of NH3, and hence explicitly exerts a redox effect in NH3-SCR by forming V-W dinuclear sites with V2O5. This study sheds new light on a long-standing puzzle regarding the role of WO3 as a promoter and hence advances the understanding of the working principle of V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts.

Catalytic Ozonation of Low Concentration Toluene over MnFeOx-USY Catalyst: Effects of Interactions between Catalytic Components and Introduction of Gas Phase NOx

A series of Mn and Fe metal oxide catalysts loaded onto USY, as well as single metal oxides, were prepared and characterized. The effects of interactions between the catalytic components and the introduction of gas phase NO on the catalytic ozonation of toluene were investigated. Characterization showed that there existed strong interactions between MnOx, FeOx, and USY, which enhanced the content of oxygen vacancies and acid sites of the catalysts and thus boosted the generation of reactive oxygen species and the adsorption of toluene. The MnFeOx-USY catalyst with MnOx and FeOx dimetallic oxides exhibited the most excellent performance of catalytic ozonation of toluene. On the other hand, the presence of NOx in reaction gas mixtures significantly promoted both toluene conversion and mineralization, which was attributed to the formation of nitrate species on the catalysts surface and thus the increase of both acid sites and toluene oxidation sites. Meanwhile, the reaction mechanism between O3 and C7H8 was modified in which the strong interactions between MnOx, FeOx, and USY accelerated the reaction progress based on the L-H route. In addition, the formation of the surface nitrate species not only promoted reaction progress following the L-H route but also resulted in the occurrence of the reaction via the E-R route.

Efficient photocatalytic NO removal with inhibited NO2 formation and catalyst loss over sponge-supported and functionalized g-C3N4

Though photocatalytic purification of NO has been widely studied, how to avoid secondary pollution during gas-solid reaction is still a challenge, especially in inhibiting the formation of toxic intermediates (NO2) and avoiding the blow away of powdery photocatalyst. Herein, we proposed a one-step solvothermal method to prepare melamine sponge (MS) supported and functionalized g-C3N4 (CN), which simultaneously realizes the inhibition of NO2 formation and catalyst loss. Sodium hydroxide, which plays a dual role, has been introduced during the preparation of supported photocatalyst. Specifically, sodium atom, as the modifier of performance, could facilitate the randomly distributed charge of pristine CN to be converged, which accelerates the adsorption/activation of reactants for efficient and deep NO oxidation. Hydroxyl group, as the binder between CN and MS, induces the interaction by forming hydrogen bonds, which contributes to the firm immobilization of powdery photocatalyst. The supported sample exhibits outstanding NO removal rate (58.90%) and extremely low NO2 generation rate (1.41%), and the mass loss rate of photocatalyst before and after reaction is less than 1%. The promotion mechanism of performance also has been elaborated. This work takes environmental risks as a prerequisite to propose a feasible strategy for perfecting the practical application of photocatalytic technology.

Mechanistic Insight into the Promotion of the Low-Temperature NH3-SCR Activity over NiMnFeOx LDO Catalysts: A Combined Experimental and DFT Study

Mn-based catalysts have attracted much attention in the field of the low-temperature NH3 selective catalytic reduction (NH3-SCR) of NO. However, their poor SO2 resistance, low N2 selectivity, and narrow operation window limit the industrial application of Mn-based oxide catalysts. In this work, NiMnFeOx catalysts were prepared by the layered double hydroxide (LDH)-derived oxide method, and the optimized Ni0.5Mn0.5Fe0.5Ox catalyst had the best denitration activity, excellent N2 selectivity, a wider active temperature range (100-250 °C), higher thermal stability, and better H2O and/or SO2 resistance. A transient reaction revealed that Ni0.5Mn0.5Fe0.5Ox inhibited the NH3 + O2 + NOx pathway to generate N2O, which may be the main reason for its improved N2 selectivity. Combining experimental measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we elucidated at the atomic level that sulfated NiMnFeOx (111) induces the adjustment of the acidity/basicity of up and down spins and the ligand field reconfiguration of the Mn sites, which improves the overall reactivity of NiMnFeOx catalysts. This work provides atomic-level insights into the promotion of NH3-SCR activity by NiMnFeOx composite oxides, which are important for the practical design of future low-temperature SCR technologies.

Uncovering the Dinuclear Mechanism of NO2-Involved NH3-SCR over Supported V2O5/TiO2 Catalysts

Commercial vanadium oxide catalysts exhibit high efficiency for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH3, especially in the presence of NO2 (i.e., occurrence of fast NH3-SCR). The high-activity sites and their working principle for the fast NH3-SCR reaction, however, remain elusive. Here, by combining in situ spectroscopy, isotopic labeling experiments, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we demonstrate that polymeric vanadyl species act as the main active sites in the fast SCR reaction because the coupling effect of the polymeric structure alters the elementary reaction step and effectively avoids the high energy barrier of the rate-determining step over monomeric vanadyl species. This study unveils the high-activity dinuclear mechanism of the NO2-involved SCR reaction over vanadia-based catalysts and provides a fundamental basis for developing high-efficiency and low V2O5-loading SCR catalysts.