Progress in research on catalysts for catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde

Catalytic reaction mechanism of formaldehyde oxidation by oxygen species over Pt/TiO2 catalyst

Theoretical calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) were employed to uncover the molecular-level oxidation mechanism of HCHO over Pt/TiO₂ surface. All the three possible reaction mechanisms including Eley-Rideal mechanism, Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism and Mars-Van Krevelen mechanism were deeply investigated to determine the primary channel of HCHO oxidation on Pt/TiO₂ catalyst. The adsorption energies and geometries show that HCHO and O₂ are chemically adsorbed on Pt and Ti sites of the Pt/TiO₂ catalyst surface, respectively. The adsorption energy of O₂ (-141.91 kJ/mol) is higher than that of HCHO (-122.03 kJ/mol). HCHO oxidation reaction mainly occurs through the Eley-Rideal mechanism: gaseous HCHO reacts with activated O produced from the dissociation reaction of molecular oxygen on Pt/TiO₂ surface by comparing the three possible mechanisms. HCHO oxidation reaction prefers the pathway of HCHO → H₂CO₂ → HCO₂ → CO₂. In the whole HCHO oxidation reaction, the elementary reaction of HCO₂ dehydrogenation presents the highest activation energy barrier of 230.45 kJ/mol. Therefore, HCO₂ dehydrogenation is recognized as the rate-determining step. The proposed skeletal reaction scheme can be used to well understand the microcosmic reaction process of HCHO oxidation on Pt/TiO₂ catalyst.

Highly Efficient MnO2/AlOOH Composite Catalyst for Indoor Low-Concentration Formaldehyde Removal at Room Temperature

Indoor formaldehyde from substandard furniture and decorative materials seriously endangers human health. How to remove effectively indoor formaldehyde with low concentration at room temperature is a challenging problem. Using a MnO₂/AlOOH composite by the MnO₂ modification as a catalyst provides an effective approach to solve this challenge. Here, a new type of MnO₂/AlOOH composite catalyst with high ability to remove indoor low-concentration formaldehyde was prepared by redox reaction at room temperature. A MnO₂/AlOOH composite with a homogeneous dispersion of MnO₂ has high specific surface area and a large amount of surface hydroxyl (-OH) which plays a major role in the adsorption of formaldehyde. A partially crystalline structure was observed in the composite, which contains multivalent Mn ions and a large number of vacancy defects. The surface -OH of composite shows strong oxidation activity through the charge exchange of multivalent Mn ions and vacancy defects. The composite has a higher ability to remove indoor low-concentration formaldehyde compared to the birnessite MnO₂ at room temperature. This study proposes a new idea for the improvement of catalytic performance in the structure and composition of the catalyst.

Efficient activation of Pd/CeO2 catalyst by non-thermal plasma for complete oxidation of indoor formaldehyde at room temperature

Formaldehyde is a typical indoor air pollutant and its removal is essential to protect human health and meet environmental regulations. Efficient activation of Pd/CeO₂ catalyst by non-thermal plasma was investigated to achieve complete oxidation of formaldehyde at room temperature. The catalyst exhibited better activity and stability than conventional thermal reduced sample. Its HCHO conversion to CO₂ kept at over 80% during 300 min test at a gas hourly space velocity of 150, 000 mL/g/h and HCHO concentration of 100 ppm. While the conversion dropped from 70% to 50% within 300 min test for the sample reduced at 300 °C. Compared with thermal reduced catalyst, plasma reduced sample exhibited more abundant surface active oxygen species, smaller palladium particle size and narrower particle size distribution. Moreover, palladium particles were partial covered by ceria layer for thermal reduced sample. Although strong interaction between palladium and ceria could be formed, the loss of metallic palladium occurs and hence the oxygen activation and mobility abilities are blocked. In situ DRIFTs results suggested that the intermediates over Pd/CeO₂ catalyst were mainly formate, dioxymethylene and polyoxymethylene species, and the formate oxidation into CO₂ process was highly promoted in the presence of water.

Catalytic Oxidation of HCHO over the Sodium-Treated Sepiolite-Supported Rare Earth (La, Eu, Dy, and Tm) Oxide Catalysts

The sodium-treated sepiolite (NaSep)-supported rare earth oxide (RE/NaSep; RE = La, Eu, Dy, and Tm) samples were prepared using the rotary evaporation method. Physicochemical properties of these materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, BET, FTIR, XPS, H2–TPR, NH3–TPD, and in situ DRIFTS, and their catalytic activities for formaldehyde (HCHO) (2000 ppm) oxidation were evaluated. The results show that loading of the rare earth oxide on NaSep improved its catalytic performance. Among all the samples, Eu/NaSep performed the best, and complete HCHO conversion was achieved at a temperature of 150 °C and a gas hourly space velocity of 240,000 mL/(g h); a good catalytic activity was still maintained after 45 h of stability test. The catalytic oxidation mechanism of HCHO was studied using the in situ DRIFTS technique. As a result, the effective and stable catalytic performance of the Eu/NaSep sample was mainly due to the presence of hydroxyl groups on the sepiolite surface and the doped rare earth oxides, which contributed to its high performance. HCHO oxidation underwent via the steps of HCHO + O2 → HCOO− + OH− → H2O + CO2. It is concluded that the optimal catalytic activity of Eu/NaSep was associated with the highest Oads/Olatt atomic ratio, the largest amount of hydroxyl groups, the highest acidity, and the best reducibility. The present work may provide new insights into the application in the removal of high-concentration HCHO over the rare earth oxides supported on natural low-cost clays.

Resource utilization of waste V2O5-based deNOx catalysts for hydrogen production from formaldehyde and water via steam reforming

The harmless disposal of abandoned and toxic V₂O₅(WO₃)/TiO₂ (VWT) deNO_x catalysts has become a worldwide great demand, a new resource path for hydrogen production from steam reforming of formaldehyde and water using the waste VWT deNOx catalysts as catalyst carriers was proposed. The waste V₂O₅-based catalysts supported NiO (N/VWT) catalysts prepared by impregnation method were comparatively studied for hydrogen production. The H₂ and CO selectivity of the optimum N/VWT separately reached 100% and 72.5%, and the formaldehyde conversion of the N/VWT reached 86.3% at 400 ℃ and higher than 93.0% at 450-600 ℃. Analysis showed that the hydroxyl species played the most important role, and its richness determined the catalytic performance directly. The high acid sites and excellent redox properties were beneficial to enhance the catalytic performance. The in situ DRIFT study verified that the hydrogen bonds between formate species and hydroxyl groups reduced reaction steps, which accelerated the progress of the reaction. The adsorbed formaldehyde transformed to formate species firstly, and then produced H₂ and CO₂ (or CO) by dehydrogenation. Ultimately, the resource utilization path not only completely solved the harmless problems of the waste V₂O₅-based deNO_x catalysts and formaldehyde, but also contributed to the hydrogen production.

Steam reforming of formaldehyde for generating hydrogen and coproducing carbon nanotubes for enhanced photosynthesis

NiO/MoO₃ exhibits high catalytic activity, and the carbon deposition can be used as nanopesticide.

Complete oxidation of formaldehyde over a Pd/CeO2 catalyst at room temperature: tunable active oxygen species content by non-thermal plasma activation

Formaldehyde is a main indoor pollutant and its removal is essential to protect human health and meet strict environmental regulations.

Mild Preoxidation Treatment of Pt/TiO2 Catalyst and Its Enhanced Low Temperature Formaldehyde Decomposition

The typical platinum nanoparticles loaded on titania (Pt/TiO2) were pretreated with mild oxidation (<300 °C) in pure oxygen to enhance the low-temperature formaldehyde (HCHO) decomposition performance. The structural properties of support and platinum nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), physical adsorption/desorption, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFITS), and temperature-programmed reduction and oxidation (TPR and TPO). The catalytic results showed that the low temperature HCHO decomposition activity of mild pre-oxidized Pt/TiO2 was around three times that of the pristine one. According to the characterization results, the structure of the Pt/TiO2 support and their Pt particle sizes had negligible change after pre-oxidation treatment. The cationic Pt content of Pt/TiO2 and surface roughness of Pt nanoparticles gradually increased with the increasing temperature of the pre-oxidation treatment. Mild pre-oxidation treatment was beneficial to the oxygen activation and water dissociation of Pt/TiO2. In situ HCHO-DFIRTS results showed that the mild pre-oxidation treatment could enhance the dehydrogenation of formate.

Heterogeneous photo-Fenton degradation of formaldehyde using MIL-100(Fe) under visible light irradiation

Removal of toxic formaldehyde from environmental waters is crucial to maintain ecosystem sustainability and human health. In this work, MIL-100(Fe) as a heterogeneous Fenton-like photocatalyst was used for the treatment of formaldehyde-contaminated water. The MIL-100(Fe) was synthesized via a facile solvothermal method and fully characterized using different spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Based on the results, the formation of highly porous, crystalline, and stable visible light-responsive MIL-100(Fe) was confirmed. The Fenton-like photocatalytic efficiency of the MIL-100(Fe) toward the degradation of formaldehyde was then studied under visible light irradiation. For this purpose, the effect of initial concentration of formaldehyde, photocatalyst dose, H₂O₂ concentration, solution pH, and contact time on the removal efficiency of the MIL-100(Fe) was investigated using central composite design. The obtained results showed that the removal efficiency of the MIL-100(Fe) is significantly affected by the initial concentration of formaldehyde. A second-order model with R² = 0.93 was developed for the system that was able to adequately predict the percentage removal of formaldehyde by the MIL-100(Fe) under different experimental conditions. According to the numerical optimization results, by using 1.13 g L^-1 photocatalyst and 0.055 mol L^-1 H₂O₂, 93% of formaldehyde can be removed after 119 min from an aqueous solution containing 700 mg L^-1 of formaldehyde at pH 6.54.

Ultralow Pt Catalyst for Formaldehyde Removal: The Determinant Role of Support

Supported Pt catalyst has been intensively investigated for formaldehyde elimination owing to its superior reactivity at room temperature (RT). However, the high Pt content is challenging because of its high cost. Herein, we report PbO-supported Pt catalysts with only 0.1 wt % Pt, which can achieve complete conversion of formaldehyde and reliable stability at RT under demanding conditions. Both experiments and simulations demonstrate that PbO interacts strongly with the Pt species, resulting in tight Pb-O-Pt bonding at the metal/support interface and concomitant activation of the surface lattice oxygen of the support. Moreover, PbO exhibits an extremely high capacity of formaldehyde capture through methylene glycol chemisorption rather than the common hydroxyl-associated adsorption, presenting a different reaction mechanism because the active surface lattice oxygen in the vicinity of Pt species offers improved reactivity. This work provides a valuable example for the design of an efficient catalyst for formaldehyde and potentially oxidation of other carbohydrates.

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Pt% in catalyst for room temperature formaldehyde removal was reduced to 0.1 wt %

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100% formaldehyde removal and reliable stability was achieved at room temperature

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PbO interacts strongly with the Pt species to form tight Pb-O-Pt bonding

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The active surface lattice oxygen close to Pt species offers improved reactivity

Ag–K/MnO2 nanorods as highly efficient catalysts for formaldehyde oxidation at low temperature

A series of Ag–K/MnO₂ nanorods with various molar ratios of K/Ag were synthesized by a conventional wetness incipient impregnation method. The as-prepared catalysts were used for the catalytic oxidation of HCHO. The Ag–K/MnO₂ nanorods with an optimal K/Ag molar ratio of 0.9 demonstrated excellent HCHO conversion efficiency of 100% at a low temperature of 60 °C. The structures of the samples were investigated by BET, TEM, SEM, XRD, H₂-TPR, O₂-TPD and XPS. The results showed that Ag–0.9K/MnO₂-r exhibited more facile reducibility and greatly abundant surface active oxygen species, endowing it with the best catalytic activity of the studied catalysts. This work provides new insights into the development of low-cost and highly efficient catalysts for the removal of HCHO.

Ag–K/MnO₂ nanorods with appropriate K/Ag ratio demonstrated excellent catalytic activity for complete oxidation of formaldehyde.

Enhancing formaldehyde oxidation on iridium catalysts using hydrogenated TiO2 supports

Hydrogenated TiO₂ nanoparticles with rich hydroxyls were utilized as robust supports for Ir, accomplishing an obviously improved HCHO oxidation.

Catalytic decomposition and mechanism of formaldehyde over Pt–Al2O3 molecular sieves at room temperature

Al₂O₃ molecular sieve supported Pt was prepared for catalytic formaldehyde oxidation at room temperature.