Adsorption of NO and NO2 on ceria–zirconia of composition Ce0.69Zr0.31O2: A DRIFTS study

Unique κ-Ce2Zr2O8 Superstructure Promoting the NOx Adsorption-Selective Catalytic Reduction (AdSCR) Performance of the WO3/CeZrOx Catalyst

Selective catalytic reduction of NOx by NH3 (NH3-SCR) for diesel emission control at low temperatures is still a great challenge due to the limit of the urea injection threshold and inferior SCR activity of state-of-the-art catalyst systems below 200 °C. Fabricating bifunctional catalysts with both low temperature NOx adsorption-storage capacity and medium-high temperature NOx reduction activity is an effective strategy to solve the issues mentioned above but is rarely investigated. Herein, the WO3/Ce0.68Zr0.32Ox (W/CZ) catalyst containing the κ-Ce2Zr2O8 pyrochlore structure was successfully developed by a simple H2 reduction method, not only showing superior NOx adsorption-storage ability below 180 °C but also exhibiting excellent NH3-SCR activity above 180 °C. The presence of the pyrochlore structure effectively increased the oxygen vacancies on the κ-Ce2Zr2O8-containing W/CZ catalyst with enhanced redox property, which significantly promoted the NOx adsorption-storage as active nitrate species below 180 °C. Upon NH3 introduction above 180 °C, the κ-Ce2Zr2O8-containing W/CZ catalyst showed greatly improved NOx reduction performance, suggesting that the pyrochlore structure played a vital role in improving the NOx adsorption-selective catalytic reduction (AdSCR) performance. This work provides a new perspective for designing bifunctional CeZrOx-based catalysts to efficiently control the NOx emissions from diesel engines during the cold-start process.

The coupling of graphene, graphitic carbon nitride and cellulose to fabricate zinc oxide-based sensors and their enhanced activity towards air pollutant nitrogen dioxide

It is desirable but challenging to sense toxic nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) for it has become one of the most prominent air pollutants. Zinc oxide-based gas sensors are known to detect NO₂ gas efficiently, however, the sensing mechanism and involved intermediates structures remain underexplored. In the work, a series of sensitive materials, including zinc oxide (ZnO) and its composites ZnO/X [X = Cel (cellulose), CN (g-C₃N₄) and Gr (graphene)] have been comprehensively examined by density functional theory. It is found that ZnO favors adsorbing NO₂ over ambient O₂, and produces nitrate intermediates; and H₂O is chemically held by zinc oxide, in line with the non-negligible impact of humidity on the sensitivity. Of the formed composites, ZnO/Gr exhibits the best NO₂ gas-sensing performance, which is proved by the calculated thermodynamics and geometrical/electronic structures of reactants, intermediates and products. The interfacial interaction has been elaborated on for composites (ZnO/X) as well as their complexes (ZnO- and ZnO/X-adsorbates). The current study well explains experimental findings and opens up a way to design and unearth novel NO₂ sensing materials.

The role of platinum on the NOx storage and desorption behavior of ceria: an online FT-IR study combined with in situ Raman and UV-vis spectroscopy

The role of platinum on the room temperature NOx storage mechanism and the NOx desorption behavior of ceria was investigated by combining online FT-IR gas-phase analysis with in situ Raman and UV-vis spectroscopy. The type of pretreatment, leading to the presence of different platinum states (Pt0, and mixed Pt0/Pt2+), is shown to have a major effect on the NOx storage and desorption properties. Upon loading of ceria with platinum (1 wt%), NOx storage capacities decrease except for reductively pretreated Pt/CeO2, enabling new reaction pathways via activation of gas-phase oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, NO is reduced by metallic platinum leading to N2O and N2 formation. In situ Raman spectra provide mechanistic information, by monitoring changes in ceria surface and subsurface oxygen, as well as PtOx during NOx storage. In the presence of gas-phase oxygen, NOx storage is related to the consumption of (sub)surface oxygen and PtOx, and proposed to involve NO2 or [NO + O2] intermediates reacting with surface oxygen. The NOx desorption behavior is shown to be strongly related to the stored NOx species. Oxidative pretreatment of ceria resulted in the largest amount of stored nitrates, consistent with NOx being mostly desorbed at elevated temperatures, i.e., within 300-500 °C. Reductive pretreatment and/or addition of platinum significantly increased the fraction of stored nitrite, thereby shifting the main NOx desorption temperature to values <300 °C. Storage and subsequent desorption of NOx in PtOx/CeO2 was associated with PtOx reduction and reoxidation, as monitored by in situ UV-vis and Raman spectra. Through detailed analysis we were able to elucidate the influence of platinum on NOx storage/desorption and demonstrate the participation of different platinum states in room temperature NOx storage, with each platinum state opening a distinct new reaction pathway.

In Situ Investigations on the Facile Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of CeO2-Pt/Al2O3 Catalyst

Ceria-modified Pt/Al2O3 catalyst has been commonly prepared by the impregnation of platinum on ceria-modified alumina and widely applied in the chemical industry and automotive industry. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transformed spectroscopy (DRIFTS), and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis techniques were employed to investigate the typical mechanisms of the bis(ethanolammonium)hexahydroxyplatinate(IV) and cerium nitrate decomposition catalyzed by Ptδ+ species for the facile synthesis of CeO2-Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. It was found that Pt4+-catalyzed decomposition of cerium nitrate leads to the higher dispersity of ceria and forming more active oxygen species, on the basis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) results. The in situ activity measurements were also performed to investigate the reaction mechanisms and the specific activities for the catalytic CO, NO, C3H6 and C3H8 co-oxidation. The results indicate that undesirable N2O by-product is formed by the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by C3H6 below 350 °C. The cerium addition effectively improves the activity of catalytic oxidation, but exhibits an increased N2O yield, due to the increased reducibility.

Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Materials for Room Temperature Light-Activated Sub-ppm NO Detection

Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the main environmental pollutants and one of the biomarkers noninvasive diagnosis of respiratory diseases. Organic-inorganic hybrids based on heterocyclic Ru (II) complex and nanocrystalline semiconductor oxides SnO2 and In2O3 were studied as sensitive materials for NO detection at room temperature under periodic blue light (λmax = 470 nm) illumination. The semiconductor matrixes were obtained by chemical precipitation with subsequent thermal annealing and characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and single-point BET methods. The heterocyclic Ru (II) complex was synthesized for the first time and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. The HOMO and LUMO energies of the Ru (II) complex are calculated from cyclic voltammetry data. The thermal stability of hybrids was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)-MS analysis. The optical properties of Ru (II) complex, nanocrystalline oxides and hybrids were studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy in transmission and diffuse reflectance modes. DRIFT spectroscopy was performed to investigate the interaction between NO and the surface of the synthesized materials. Sensor measurements demonstrate that hybrid materials are able to detect NO at room temperature in the concentration range of 0.25-4.0 ppm with the detection limit of 69-88 ppb.

15N2 formation and fast oxygen isotope exchange during pulsed 15N18O exposure of MnOx/CeO2

Molecular nitrogen formation and extensive isotope exchange between ¹⁵N¹⁸O and surface ¹⁶O on defect-rich MnO_x/CeO₂ was observed.

Effect of iron doping into CeO2-ZrO2 on the properties and catalytic behaviour of Pd-only three-way catalyst for automotive emission control

Ce(0.67)Zr(0.33)O(2) doped with iron oxide was prepared and the corresponding Pd-only three-way catalysts were examined and characterized. Pd/CZFe(1%) catalyst exhibits the best catalytic performance for CO, HC, NO and NO(2) elimination and the widest operation window. The doping of iron oxide with 1% loading suggests the formation of more homogeneous Ce-Zr-Fe-O ternary solid solution, which seems to facilitate the reduction of Ce(4+)→Ce(3+) or the formation of oxygen vacancy and to promote the interaction between Ce-Zr and Fe. Moreover, the Ce redox behaviour for surface reduction suggests depending not only on the formation of homogeneous Ce-Zr-Fe-O but also on the surface property of the sample. The increase in the concentration of oxygen vacancies under all atmospheres for CZFe(1%) sample also results in the enhancement of oxygen storage complete capacity.