Reactivity of oxygen species formed upon N2O dissociation over Fe–ZSM-5 zeolite: CO oxidation as a model

Atomic-scale insights into zeolite-based catalysis in N2O decomposition

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) has been the most serious ozone-depleting species throughout the 21st century. Zeolite-based catalysis is a highly promising method for N₂O removal in large-scale industrial applications. However, the exchanged transition metal species in zeolites greatly influence the performance of catalysts. The primary factor governing the catalytic activity is a fiercely debated topic and remains highly uncertain. Here we synthesize a series of transition-metal ion (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu)-exchanged ZSM-5 zeolite catalysts. Both experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the activity for N₂O decomposition follows the order Fe ≈ Co > Ni > Cu. Analysis of the electronic structure properties reveals that the catalytic activity of the transition-metal ion-exchanged ZSM-5 zeolites is governed by the local softness of active sites and the composition of their HOMOs. The higher the local softness and the proportion of 4s orbitals in the HOMO, the higher the catalytic activity, which facilitates electron transfer in the redox process and thereby reduces the reaction barriers for N₂O decomposition into N₂ and O₂. Clarification of the nature of catalytic activity advances the understanding of the principles of zeolite-based catalysis, and is helpful for the design of highly efficient zeolite catalysts for pollutant removals.

Selective Transformation of Various Nitrogen-Containing Exhaust Gases toward N2 over Zeolite Catalysts

In this review we focus on the catalytic removal of a series of N-containing exhaust gases with various valences, including nitriles (HCN, CH3CN, and C2H3CN), ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O), and nitric oxides (NO(x)), which can cause some serious environmental problems, such as acid rain, haze weather, global warming, and even death. The zeolite catalysts with high internal surface areas, uniform pore systems, considerable ion-exchange capabilities, and satisfactory thermal stabilities are herein addressed for the corresponding depollution processes. The sources and toxicities of these pollutants are introduced. The important physicochemical properties of zeolite catalysts, including shape selectivity, surface area, acidity, and redox ability, are described in detail. The catalytic combustion of nitriles and ammonia, the direct catalytic decomposition of N2O, and the selective catalytic reduction and direct catalytic decomposition of NO are systematically discussed, involving the catalytic behaviors as well as mechanism studies based on spectroscopic and kinetic approaches and molecular simulations. Finally, concluding remarks and perspectives are given. In the present work, emphasis is placed on the structure-performance relationship with an aim to design an ideal zeolite-based catalyst for the effective elimination of harmful N-containing compounds.