Efficient Formaldehyde Elimination Over Ag/MnO2 Nanorods: Influence of the Ag Loading

Regulating the Pt-MnO2 Interaction and Interface for Room Temperature Formaldehyde Oxidation

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is a hazardous pollutant in indoor space for humans because of its carcinogenicity. Removing the pollutant by MnO₂-based catalysts is of great interest because of their high oxidation performance at room temperature. In this work, we regulate the Pt-MnO₂ (MnO₂ = manganese oxide) interaction and interface by embedding Pt in MnO₂ (Pt-in-MnO₂) and by dispersing Pt on MnO₂ (Pt-on-MnO₂) for HCHO oxidation over Pt-MnO₂ catalysts with trace Pt loading of 0.01 wt %. In comparison to the Pt-in-MnO₂ catalyst, the Pt-on-MnO₂ catalyst has a higher Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, a more active lattice oxygen, more oxygen vacancy activating more dioxygen molecules, more exposed Pt atoms, and noninternal diffusion of mass transfer, which contribute to the higher HCHO oxidation performance. The HCHO oxidation performance is stable over the Pt-MnO₂ catalysts under high space velocity and high moisture humidity conditions, showing great potential for practical applications. This work demonstrates a more effective Pt-dispersed MnO₂ catalyst than Pt-embedded MnO₂ catalyst for HCHO oxidation, providing universally important guidance for metal-support interaction and interface regulation for oxidation reactions.

Enhanced Catalytic Performance and Sulfur Dioxide Resistance of Reduced Graphene Oxide-Promoted MnO2 Nanorods-Supported Pt Nanoparticles for Benzene Oxidation

The reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-promoted α-MnO2 nanorods-supported Pt (xPt-yrGO/α-MnO2, x = 0.93 wt%, y = 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 wt%) nanocatalysts were prepared using a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-protected reduction method. After an appropriate loading of Pt on α-MnO2, the strong metal–support interaction between Pt and α-MnO2 was beneficial for an increase in catalytic activity. The simultaneous addition of rGO to α-MnO2 not only provided a more amount of benzene adsorption sites, but also acted as an electron transfer channel to accelerate charge migration, thus further improving catalytic activity of α-MnO2. Among all of the catalyst samples, 0.94Pt-1.0rGO/α-MnO2 showed the best catalytic performance with 90% benzene conversion at 160 °C and a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 60,000 mL/(g h), which was better than that over the other Pt-based catalysts. The results of in situ DRIFTS characterization revealed that phenol, benzoquinone, and carboxylate species were the intermediates and eventually oxidized to CO2 and H2O. When sulfur dioxide was present, catalytic activity of α-MnO2 decreased due to the formation of manganese sulfate that blocked the active sites, while the loading of Pt and rGO hindered the chemisorption of SO2 and prevented the active sites of the catalyst from being poisoned by SO2, thus enhancing sulfur resistance of the catalyst. The 0.94Pt-1.0rGO/α-MnO2 catalyst presented in this work can be considered as a cost-effective and promising catalyst for the oxidative removal of volatile organic compounds.

Recent progresses in the synthesis of MnO2 nanowire and its application in environmental catalysis

Nanostructured MnO2 with various morphologies exhibits excellent performance in environmental catalysis owing to its large specific surface area, low density, and adjustable chemical properties. The one-dimensional MnO2 nanowire has been proved to be the dominant morphology among various nanostructures, such as nanorods, nanofibers, nanoflowers, etc. The syntheses and applications of MnO2-based nanowires also have become a research hotspot in environmental catalytic materials over the last two decades. With the continuous deepening of the research, the control of morphology and crystal facet exposure in the synthesis of MnO2 nanowire materials have gradually matured, and the catalytic performance also has been greatly improved. Differences in the crystalline phase structure, preferably exposed crystal facets, and even the length of the MnO2 nanowires will evidently affect the final catalytic performances. Besides, the modifications by doping or loading will also significantly affect their catalytic performances. This review carefully summarizes the synthesis strategies of MnO2 nanowires developed in recent years as well as the influences of the phase structure, crystal facet, morphology, dopant, and loading amount on the catalytic performance. Besides, the cutting-edge applications of MnO2 nanowires in the field of environmental catalysis, such as CO oxidation, the removal of VOCs, denitrification, etc., have been also summarized. The application of MnO2 nanowire in environmental catalysis is still in the early exploratory stage. The gigantic gap between theoretical investigation and industrial application is still a great challenge. Compared with noble metal based traditional environmental catalytic materials, the lower cost of MnO2 has injected new momentum and promising potential into this research field.

Preparation of Mn-Fe Oxide by a Hydrolysis-Driven Redox Method and Its Application in Formaldehyde Oxidation

Homogeneous distribution of Mn-Fe oxides (xMn1Fe) with different Mn/Fe ratios was synthesized by a hydrolysis-driven redox method, and their catalytic activities in HCHO oxidation were investigated. The results showed that HCHO conversion was significantly improved after doping iron due to the synergistic effect between manganese and iron. The 5Mn1Fe catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity, achieving >90% HCHO conversion at 80 °C and nearly 100% conversion at 100 °C. The physicochemical properties of catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, H2-TPR, O2-TPD, and XPS techniques. Experimental results revealed that the introduction of Fe into MnO x resulted in a large surface area, a high ratio of Mn4+, abundant lattice oxygen species and oxygen vacancy, and uniform distribution of Mn and Fe, thus facilitating the oxidation of HCHO to CO2 and H2O.

Catalytic activity of porous manganese oxides for benzene oxidation improved via citric acid solution combustion synthesis

Various manganese oxides (MnO_x) prepared via citric acid solution combustion synthesis were applied for catalytic oxidation of benzene. The results showed the ratios of citric acid/manganese nitrate in synthesizing process positively affected the physicochemical properties of MnO_x, e.g., BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) surface area, porous structure, reducibility and so on, which were in close relationship with their catalytic performance. Of all the catalysts, the sample prepared at a citric acid/manganese nitrate ratio of 2:1 (C2M1) displayed the best catalytic activity with T₉₀ (the temperature when 90% of benzene was catalytically oxidized) of 212℃. Further investigation showed that C2M1 was Mn₂O₃ with abundant nano-pores, the largest surface area and the proper ratio of surface Mn⁴⁺/Mn³⁺, resulting in preferable low-temperature reducibility and abundant surface active adsorbed oxygen species. The analysis results of the in-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (in-situ FTIR) revealed that the benzene was successively oxidized to phenolate, o-benzoquinone, small molecules (such as maleates, acetates, and vinyl), and finally transformed to CO₂ and H₂O.