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

Efficient catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde by defective g-C3N4-anchored single-atom Pt: A DFT study

Indoor volatile formaldehyde is a serious health hazard. The development of low-temperature and efficient nonhomogeneous oxidation catalysts is crucial for protecting human health and the environment but is also quite challenging. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with active centers and coordination environments that are precisely tunable at the atomic level exhibit excellent catalytic activity in many catalytic fields. Among two-dimensional materials, the nonmagnetic monolayer material g-C3N4 may be a good platform for loading single atoms. In this study, the effect of nitrogen defect formation on the charge distribution of g-C3N4 is discussed in detail using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The effect of nitrogen defects on the activated molecular oxygen of Pt/C3N4 was systematically revealed by DFT calculations in combination with molecular orbital theory. Two typical reaction mechanisms for the catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde were proposed based on the Eley-Rideal (E-R) mechanism. Pt/C3N4-V3N was more advantageous for path 1, as determined by the activation energy barrier of the rate-determining step and product desorption. Finally, the active centers and chemical structures of Pt/C3N4 and Pt/C3N4-V3N were verified to have good stability at 375 K by determination of the migration energy barriers and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Therefore, the formation of N defects can effectively anchor single-atom Pt and provide additional active sites, which in turn activate molecular oxygen to efficiently catalyze the oxidation of formaldehyde. This study provides a better understanding of the mechanism of formaldehyde oxidation by single-atom Pt catalysts and a new idea for the development of Pt as well as other metal-based single-atom oxidation catalysts.

The effects of metal-oxide content in MnO2-activated carbon composites on reactive adsorption and catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde and toluene in air

The deterioration in air quality caused by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has become an important environmental issue. Here, activated carbon (AC) composites with manganese oxide (MnO2: 1 % to 50 %) are synthesized as MAC for the removal of formaldehyde (FA) and toluene in air through a combination of reactive adsorption and catalytic oxidation (RACO) at room temperature (RT). The best-performing composite (MAC-20: 20 % of MnO2) exhibits a 10 % breakthrough volume (BTV10%) of FA and toluene at 41.2 and 377 L g-1, respectively while realizing complete oxidation of FA and toluene into carbon dioxide (CO2) at 100 °C and 275 °C, respectively. The reaction kinetic rates (r) for 10 % removal efficiency of FA and toluene (XFA or T) at RT are estimated as 9.82E-02 and 3.20E-02 mmol g-1 h-1, respectively. The high performance of MAC-20 can be attributed to its enriched adsorption capacity of oxygen vacancy (OV) and the presence of adsorbed oxygen (OA), as shown by an Mn3+/Mn4+ ratio of 0.729 and an OA/lattice‑oxygen (OL) ratio of 1.50. The results of this study highlight the interactive roles of oxygen abundance and temperature in the generation of distinctive oxidation patterns for FA in reference to toluene. This study is expected to offer practical guidance for the implementation of RACO against diverse VOCs for efficient management of air quality.

A first-principles study on Ni-decorated MoS2 for efficient formaldehyde degradation over a wide temperature range

The development of a high-efficiency, low-cost, and environmentally friendly catalyst for formaldehyde degradation is crucial for addressing the issue of indoor formaldehyde pollution. Given that modern individuals spend over 90% of their time indoors, effectively tackling indoor formaldehyde pollution holds significant importance. Therefore, this paper proposes an efficient catalyst for formaldehyde degradation: surface modification of MoS2 by single-atom Ni, which can convert formaldehyde into harmless H2O and CO2. The DFT method is employed to systematically investigate the oxidative degradation pathways of formaldehyde on the surface of Ni-doped MoS2. The research focuses on two common oxidative degradation pathways in both the L-H mechanism and E-R mechanism. Our findings demonstrate that these four reaction paths occur spontaneously within the temperature range of 300-800 K with a reaction equilibrium constant greater than 105. Moreover, even under extreme temperature conditions (100 K), the reaction rate remains favorable. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the minimum activation energy is merely 0.91 eV and H2O and CO2 only need to overcome an energy barrier of 0.71 eV for desorption from the catalyst surface. This substantiates its potential application both in indoor environments and under extreme temperature conditions. This theoretical research provides innovative ideas and strategies for effectively oxidizing formaldehyde.

Oxidation mechanism of HCHO on copper-manganese composite oxides catalyst

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is a typical air pollutant that severely endangers human health. The Cu-Mn spinel-structure catalyst exhibits good catalytic oxidation activity for HCHO removal. Theoretical calculation study of density functional theory (DFT) was performed to provide an atomic-scale understanding for the oxidation mechanism of HCHO over CuMn2O4 surface. The results indicate that the (110) surface containing alternating three-coordinated Cu atom and three-coordinated Mn atom is more active for HCHO and O2 adsorption than the (100) surface. The Mars-van-Krevelen mechanism is dominant for HCHO catalytic oxidation. This reaction pathway of MvK mechanism includes HCHO adsorption and dehydrogenation dissociation, CO2 formation and desorption, O2 adsorption, H2O formation and surface restoration. In the complete catalytic cycle of HCHO oxidation, the second dehydrogenation (CHO* → CO* + H*) shows the highest energy barrier and is recognized as the rate-limiting step. The relationship of temperature and reaction rate constant is found to be positive by the kinetic analysis. The minimum activation energy of the MvK mechanism via the direct dehydrogenation pathway is 1.29 eV. This theoretical work provides an insight into the catalytic mechanism of HCHO oxidation over CuMn2O4 spinel.

Pt single atoms and defect engineering of TiO2-nanosheet-assembled hierarchical spheres for efficient room-temperature HCHO oxidation

Achieving high atomic utilization and low cost of desirable Pt/TiO₂ catalysts is a major challenge for room temperature HCHO oxidation. Here, the strategy of anchoring stable Pt single atoms by abundant oxygen vacancies over TiO₂-nanosheet-assembled hierarchical spheres (Pt₁/TiO₂-HS) was designed to eliminate HCHO. A superior HCHO oxidation activity and CO₂ yield (∼100% CO₂ yield) at relative humidity (RH) > 50% over Pt₁/TiO₂-HS is achieved for long-term run. We attribute the excellent HCHO oxidation performance to the stable isolated Pt single atoms anchored on the defective TiO₂-HS surface. The Pt^δ+ on the Pt₁/TiO₂-HS surface has a facile intense electron transfer with the support by forming Pt-O-Ti linkages, driving HCHO oxidation effectively. Further in situ HCHO-DRIFTS revealed that the dioxymethylene (DOM) and HCOOH/HCOO^- intermediates were further degraded via active OH^- and adsorbed oxygen on the Pt₁/TiO₂-HS surface, respectively. This work may pave the way for the next generation of advanced catalytic materials for high-efficiency catalytic HCHO oxidation at room temperature.

Catalytic performance and mechanism of bismuth molybdate nanosheets decorated with platinum nanoparticles for formaldehyde decomposition at room temperature

Catalytic oxidation at room temperature is considered as a promising strategy for removal of formaldehyde (HCHO), a widely occurring indoor air pollutant. A series of Bi₂MoO₆ nanosheets were prepared via one-step hydrothermal synthesis in this study, followed by decoration with Pt nanoparticles (NPs). The catalyst with Bi₂MoO₆ support prepared at 180 °C exhibited high and stable activity in catalytic oxidation of HCHO at room temperature. The excellent catalytic performance was attributed to its large specific area and pore volume, high level of surface active oxygen species, high content of metallic Pt NPs, and abundant oxygen vacancies. The good synergy and interaction between Pt and Bi₂MoO₆ promoted electron transfer, and facilitated the adsorption and oxidation of HCHO. The electronic interaction between Pt NPs and Bi₂MoO₆ accelerated the activation of oxygen species due to weakening of the surface BiO or MoO bonds adjacent to Pt NPs. Infrared spectra indicated that dioxymethylene and formate species were the main intermediates of HCHO oxidation. Density functional theory calculations showed that the dehydrogenation of HCO₂, with an energy barrier of 282.1 kJ/mol, was the rate-determining step in catalytic oxidation process. This study provides new insights on the construction of high-efficiency catalysts for indoor formaldehyde removal.

Harnessing Waste Heat from Indoor lamps for Sustainable Thermocatalytic Mineralization of Acetaldehyde using Platinized TiO2

This study demonstrates the first reported thermocatalytic oxidation of an indoor volatile organic compound (VOC), acetaldehyde, by harnessing the waste-heat energy from indoor light sources (e.g., halogen lamps) without additional energy inputs. With an optimal Pt-TiO₂ catalyst, the designed catalyst-coated lampshade was successfully activated under waste-heat energy (∼120 °C) and achieved the complete mineralization of CH₃CHO into CO₂ (k = 0.02 min^-1). The catalytic activity of Pt-TiO₂ was extremely dependent on its preparation method which greatly influenced the characteristics (e.g., oxidation state and size) of Pt. The thermocatalytic oxidation mechanism of CH₃CHO over Pt-TiO₂ was investigated, which revealed that O₂ and H₂O sources play vital roles. Although Pt is an expensive noble metal, the thermocatalytic process on the Pt-TiO₂-coated lampshade without additional energy, along with its outstanding activity, can offset the high material cost. The proposed strategy offers a sustainable and feasible method for the degradation of indoor VOCs.

Remarkable performance of atomically dispersed cobalt catalyst for catalytic removal of indoor formaldehyde

The single atom catalysts have been widely studied in the catalytic reaction due to their 100% atomic utilization and ultra-high catalytic activity. However, the catalytic removal of formaldehyde on single atom catalysts have not been studied extensively and its catalytic mechanism is still unclear. In this work, atomically dispersed Co catalysts anchored in porous nitrogen-doped carbon were synthetized and the coordination environment of single Co atoms were further proved by the results of XAFS spectrum. The optimal atomically dispersed Co catalysts preformed outstanding removal performance for low-concentration HCHO (∼1 ppm) at room temperature. Furthermore, DFT calculations reveal the HCHO removal mechanism on atomically dispersed Co catalysts, which showed that HCHO molecules can react with O₂ molecules adsorbed on single-atom Co sites through the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) pathway to generate CO₂ and H₂O at room temperature (HCHO → HCOO* → CO₂). This work provides a promising lead for exploring single-atom Co catalysts for HCHO oxidation.

Enhanced the synergistic degradation effect between active hydroxyl and reactive oxygen species for indoor formaldehyde based on platinum atoms modified MnOOH/MnO2 catalyst

Maintaining high activity during prolonged catalysis is always the pursuit in catalytic degradation of organic pollutants. For indoor formaldehyde (HCHO) degradation, the accumulation of intermediates is the major factor limiting the conversion of HCHO to final product CO₂ (HCHO-to-CO₂ conversion) and long-lasting catalysis. Herein, a three-dimensional radialized nanostructure catalyst self-assembled by MnOOH/MnO₂ nanosheets anchored with Pt single atoms (Pt_SA-MnOOH/MnO₂ with a trace platinum loading amount of 0.09%) is developed by thermally assisted two-step electrochemical method, which achieves enhanced CO₂ production in catalytic HCHO degradation at the room temperature by the collaborative action of active hydroxyl (OH*) and active oxygen species (O₂*). By boosting intermediates' decomposing, the catalyst implements real-time HCHO-to-CO₂ conversion (∼85.7%) and long-term continuous HCHO removal (∼98%) during 100 h in a 15 ppm HCHO atmosphere at 25 °C under a weight hourly space velocity of 30000 mL/g_cat∙h. Density functional theory calculation shows that the formation energy of O₂* from O₂ over Pt_SA-MnOOH/MnO₂ is nearly half lower than that over Pt-MnO₂ catalyst. And decomposing accumulated intermediates gives the credit to OH* species sustainably generated by the combined action of MnOOH and O₂*. The synergistic action between Pt_SA and MnOOH contributes to the continuous production of O₂* and OH* for enhancing CO₂ production in indoor catalytic formaldehyde degradation.

Bifunctional zeolites-silver catalyst enabled tandem oxidation of formaldehyde at low temperatures

Bifunctional catalysts with tandem processes have achieved great success in a wide range of important catalytic processes, however, this concept has hardly been applied in the elimination of volatile organic compounds. Herein, we designed a tandem bifunctional Zeolites-Silver catalyst that enormously boosted formaldehyde oxidation at low temperatures, and formaldehyde conversion increased by 50 times (100% versus 2%) at 70 °C compared to that of monofunctional supported silver catalyst. This is enabled by designing a bifunctional catalyst composed of acidic ZSM-5 zeolite and silver component, which provides two types of active sites with complementary functions. Detached acidic ZSM-5 activates formaldehyde to generate gaseous intermediates of methyl formate, which is more easily oxidized by subsequent silver component. We anticipate that the findings here will open up a new avenue for the development of formaldehyde oxidation technologies, and also provide guidance for designing efficient catalysts in a series of oxidation reactions.

Understanding A-site tuning effect on formaldehyde catalytic oxidation over La-Mn perovskite catalysts

A combination study of density functional theory (DFT) calculation and microkinetic analysis was carried out to investigate A-site tuning effect on formaldehyde (HCHO) oxidation over La-Mn perovskite catalysts (A = Sr, Ag, and Sn). The oxygen mobility of A-doped LaMnO₃ catalysts and reaction mechanism of HCHO oxidation on catalyst surfaces were investigated. The microkinetic simulation was performed to quantitatively determine the activity of catalysts toward the HCHO catalytic oxidation. The results indicated that A-site tuning weakens the binding energy of Mn-O bond of LaMnO₃ surface and facilitates the formation of surface oxygen vacancy. The presence of dopants can significantly reduce the activation energy of O₂ dissociation, which ascribes to the facilitation of electron transfer between oxygen species and catalyst surfaces. The reaction cycle of HCHO oxidation contains seven steps: HCHO adsorption, HCHO* dehydrogenation, CHO* dehydrogenation, CO₂ desorption, H₂O desorption, O₂ adsorption and oxygen vacancy recovery. The dopants promote HCHO adsorption and reduce the activation energy of HCHO oxidation. Two elementary steps control the overall reaction rate of HCHO oxidation. CHO* dehydrogenation step has the largest degree of rate control value at low temperature and O₂ adsorption step controls the whole reaction at high temperature.

Synergy of surface sodium and hydroxyl on NaTi2HO5 nanotubes accelerating the Pt-dominated ambient HCHO oxidation

Surface hydroxyl is widely perceived as conducive to HCHO degradation. Here, a kind of sodium titanate with interlayered hydroxyls (NaTi₂HO₅) was prepared to study the action conditions of surface hydroxyls in HCHO oxidation. The nanotubes mainly exposing (001) and nanobelts mainly exposing (100) are synthesized as the two morphologies of NaTi₂HO₅. We found the (001) facet is much more favored to HCHO adsorption via HRTEM and XPS analysis. The DFT calculations prove that the synergy of surface hydroxyl and Na atom is perfect for HCHO chemisorption. By this means NaTi₂HO₅ nanotubes can partially oxidize HCHO into formate and release very few CO, measured by in situ DRIFTS. Dominated by Pt nanoparticles, the complete oxidation of HCHO can be performed on NaTi₂HO₅ nanotubes with enhanced early reaction speed. Rather than simple surface hydroxyl, the effective synergy of hydroxyl and positive ion is proposed as an advantage for HCHO oxidation.

Reaction mechanism of dichloromethane oxidation on LaMnO3 perovskite

The reaction mechanism of dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂) oxidation on LaMnO₃ catalyst was investigated using density functional theory calculations. The results showed that CH₂Cl₂ dechlorination proceeds via CH₂Cl₂ → CH₂ClO → HCHO. The adsorbed Cl∗ and formaldehyde (HCHO) are identified as the important intermediates of CH₂Cl₂ dechlorination process. The dissociated Cl atoms prefer to adsorb on the surface Mn sites. Surface hydroxyl groups are not directly involved in the CH₂Cl₂ dechlorination process, but react with the adsorbed Cl∗ to form HCl. The energy barrier of HCl formation is lower than that of Cl₂ formation, indicating that hydroxyl groups facilitate the removal of adsorbed Cl∗ species. Three possible pathways of HCHO oxidation with the assist of lattice oxygen, active oxygen atom and hydroxyl groups were investigated. HCHO catalytic oxidation contains four steps: HCHO → CHO → CO → H₂O desorption → CO/CO₂ desorption. Compared with the HCHO oxidation by lattice oxygen and hydroxyl groups, HCHO oxidation assisted with activated oxygen atom is more thermodynamically favorable. A complete catalytic cycle was proposed to understand the preferable reaction pathway for CH₂Cl₂ oxidation on LaMnO₃ catalyst. The catalytic cycle includes CH₂Cl₂ dechlorination, HCl formation and HCHO oxidation. The microkinetic analysis indicates that there are four steps controlling the reaction cycle: CH₂Cl₂∗ + ∗ → CH₂Cl∗ + Cl∗, CH₂OCl∗ + Cl∗ → CH₂O∗ + Cl∗, O₂∗ + ∗ → 2O∗, and CHO₂∗ + OH∗ → CO₂ + H₂O∗.

First-principles insights into the adsorption and interaction mechanism of selenium on selective catalytic reduction catalyst

Selenium (Se) species can deposit in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system during the denitrification process, which is harmful to the catalyst. To improve the Se-poisoning resistance of SCR catalysts, the influence mechanism of Se species on vanadium-titanium-based catalysts should be elucidated from an atomic scale. In this paper, theoretical calculations were conducted to reveal the adsorption and interaction mechanism of Se species on V₂O₅-WO₃(MoO₃)/TiO₂ surface based on the first-principles. The impact of Se species on the electronic structure of the catalyst was investigated from electron transfer, bond formation, and VO site activity. The results show that the adsorption of elementary Se (Se⁰) belongs to chemisorption, while SeO₂ can undergo both physisorption and chemisorption. For the chemisorption of Se species, obvious charge transfer with the catalyst is observed and Se-O bond is formed, which enhances the oxidation activity of the catalyst, triggers the reaction of Se⁰ and SeO₂ with the catalyst components to generate SeVO_x and SeW(Mo)O_x. The active sites are thereby damaged and the SCR performance is reduced. The above conclusions are mutually confirmed with the previous experimental research. By studying the correlation with the adsorption energies of Se species, descriptors manifesting the Se species adsorption were initially investigated to unveil the relationship between the electronic structure and the adsorption energy. Finally, the influence of temperature on Se adsorption was investigated. The adsorption can only proceed spontaneously below 500 K and is inhibited at high temperatures.