Insight into the mesoporous Fe Ce1−O2− catalysts for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3: Regulable structure and activity

Synergy of Active Sites and Charge Transfer in Branched WO3/W18O49 Heterostructures for Enhanced NO2 Sensing

Achieving reliable detection of trace levels of NO2 gas is essential for environmental monitoring and protection of human health protection. Herein, a thin-film gas sensor based on branched WO3/W18O49 heterostructures was fabricated. The optimized WO3/W18O49 sensor exhibited outstanding NO2 sensing properties with an ultrahigh response value (1038) and low detection limit (10 ppb) at 50 °C. Such excellent sensing performance could be ascribed to the synergistic effect of accelerated charge transfer and increased active sites, which is confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption characterization. The sensor exhibited an excellent detection ability to NO2 under different air quality conditions. This work provides an effective strategy for constructing WO3/W18O49 heterostructures for developing NO2 gas sensors with an excellent sensing performance.

Role of the In-Situ-Formed Surface (Pt-S-O)-Ti Active Structure in SO2-Promoted C3H8 Combustion over a Pt/TiO2 Catalyst

Typically, SO2 unavoidably deactivates catalysts in most heterogeneous catalytic oxidations. However, for Pt-based catalysts, SO2 exhibits an extraordinary boosting effect in propane catalytic oxidation, but the promotive mechanism remains contentious. In this study, an in situ-formed tactful (Pt-S-O)-Ti structure was concluded to be a key factor for Pt/TiO2 catalysts with a substantial SO2 tolerance ability. The experiments and theoretical calculations confirm that the high degree of hybridization and orbital coupling between Pt 5d and S 3p orbitals enable more charge transfer from Pt to S species, thus forming the (Pt-S-O)-Ti structure with the oxygen atom dissociated from the chemisorbed O2 adsorbed on oxygen vacancies. The active oxygen atom in the (Pt-S-O)-Ti active structure is a robust site for C3H8 adsorption, leading to a better C3H8 combustion performance. This work can provide insights into the rational design of chemical bonds for high SO2 tolerance catalysts, thereby improving economic and environmental benefits.

Doping SnO2 with metal ions of varying valence states: discerning the importance of active surface oxygen species vs. acid sites for C3H8 and CO oxidation

To elucidate the valence state effect of doping cations, Li+, Mg2+, Cr3+, Zr4+ and Nb5+ with radii similar to Sn4+ (CN = 6) were chosen to dope tetragonal SnO2. Cr3+, Zr4+ and Nb5+ can enter the SnO2 lattice to produce solid solutions, thus creating more surface defects. However, Li+ and Mg2+ can only stay on the SnO2 surface as nitrates, thus suppressing the surface defects. The rich surface defects facilitate the generation of active O2-/Oδ- and acid sites on the solid solution catalysts, hence improving the reactivity. On the solid solution catalysts active for propane combustion, several reactive intermediates can be formed, but are negligible on those with low activity. It is confirmed that for propane combustion, surface acid sites play a more vital role than active oxygen sites. Nevertheless, for CO oxidation, the active oxygen sites play a more vital role than the acid sites.

Disentangling Local Interfacial Confinement and Remote Spillover Effects in Oxide-Oxide Interactions

Supported oxides are widely used in many important catalytic reactions, in which the interaction between the oxide catalyst and oxide support is critical but still remains elusive. Here, we construct a chemically bonded oxide-oxide interface by chemical deposition of Co3O4 onto ZnO powder (Co3O4/ZnO), in which complete reduction of Co3O4 to Co0 has been strongly impeded. It was revealed that the local interfacial confinement effect between Co oxide and the ZnO support helps to maintain a metastable CoOx state in CO2 hydrogenation reaction, producing 93% CO. In contrast, a physically contacted oxide-oxide interface was formed by mechanically mixing Co3O4 and ZnO powders (Co3O4-ZnO), in which reduction of Co3O4 to Co0 was significantly promoted, demonstrating a quick increase of CO2 conversion to 45% and a high selectivity toward CH4 (92%) in the CO2 hydrogenation reaction. This interface effect is ascribed to unusual remote spillover of dissociated hydrogen species from ZnO nanoparticles to the neighboring Co oxide nanoparticles. This work clearly illustrates the equally important but opposite local and remote effects at the oxide-oxide interfaces. The distinct oxide-oxide interactions contribute to many diverse interface phenomena in oxide-oxide catalytic systems.

Excellent operating temperature window and H2O/SO2 resistances of Fe-Ce catalyst modified by different sulfation strategies for NH3-SCR reaction

Expecting to gain an excellent operating temperature window and superior catalytic activity of the catalyst in SCR reaction, the Fe-Ce bimetallic oxide catalyst was firstly prepared and sulfated with two different sulfation strategies by H₂SO₄. It is interestingly found that both the two sulfation strategies can significantly broaden the operating temperature window of the catalyst. In particular, the SFC and FCS both exhibit superior resistance to H₂O + SO₂, and the NO_x conversion of the SFC even displays no changes in the coexistence of H₂O and SO₂. The characterization results show that different sulfation strategies can generate amorphous sulfate species rather than bulk sulfate species. Furthermore, more surface-adsorbed oxygen as well as higher contents of Ce³⁺ and Fe³⁺ can be obtained on the sulfated catalysts, especially for the SFC catalyst. Meanwhile, different sulfation strategies will progressively enhance the redox ability and amounts of strong acid sites, which will contribute to broadening the operating temperature window for the NH₃-SCR reaction. Additionally, different sulfation methods do not change the reaction pathway of catalysts. However, the adsorption of ad-NH₃ species and reactivity of ad-NO_x species are significantly changed. These lead to the reaction pathway shifts to E-R direct over the SFC and the promotion of E-R and L-H mechanisms over the FCS catalyst.

Compensation or Aggravation: Pb and SO2 Copoisoning Effects over Ceria-Based Catalysts for NOx Reduction

Severe catalyst deactivation caused by multiple poisons, including heavy metals and SO₂, remains an obstinate issue for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x by NH₃. The copoisoning effects of heavy metals and SO₂ are still unclear and irreconcilable. Herein, the unanticipated differential compensated or aggravated Pb and SO₂ copoisoning effects over ceria-based catalysts for NO_x reduction was originally unraveled. It was demonstrated that Pb and SO₂ exhibited a compensated copoisoning effect over the CeO₂/TiO₂ (CT) catalyst with sole active CeO₂ sites but an aggravated copoisoning effect over the CeO₂-WO₃/TiO₂ (CWT) catalyst with dual active CeO₂ sites and acidic WO₃ sites. Furthermore, it was uniquely revealed that Pb preferred bonding with CeO₂ among CT while further being combined with SO₂ to form PbSO₄ after copoisoning, which released the poisoned active CeO₂ sites and rendered the copoisoned CT catalyst a recovered reactivity. In comparison, Pb and SO₂ would poison acidic WO₃ sites and active CeO₂ sites, respectively, resulting in a seriously degraded reactivity of the copoisoned CWT catalyst. Therefore, this work thoroughly illustrates the internal mechanism of differential compensated or aggravated deactivation effects for Pb and SO₂ copoisoning over CT and CWT catalysts and provides effective solutions to design ceria-based SCR catalysts with remarkable copoisoning resistance for the coexistence of heavy metals and SO₂.

Single-Atom Ce-Modified α-Fe2O3 for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO with NH3

A single-atom Ce-modified α-Fe₂O₃ catalyst (Fe_0.93Ce_0.07O_x catalyst with 7% atomic percentage of Ce) was synthesized by a citric acid-assisted sol-gel method, which exhibited excellent performance for selective catalytic reduction of NO_x with NH₃ (NH₃-SCR) over a wide operating temperature window. Remarkably, it maintained ∼93% NO conversion efficiency for 168 h in the presence of 200 ppm SO₂ and 5 vol % H₂O at 250 °C. The structural characterizations suggested that the introduction of Ce leads to the generation of local Fe-O-Ce sites in the FeO_x matrix. Furthermore, it is critical to maintain the atomic dispersion of the Ce species to maximize the amounts of Fe-O-Ce sites in the Ce-doped FeO_x catalyst. The formation of CeO₂ nanoparticles due to a high doping amount of Ce species leads to a decline in catalytic performance, indicating a size-dependent catalytic behavior. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation results indicate that the formation of oxygen vacancies in the Fe-O-Ce sites is more favorable than that in the Fe-O-Fe sites in the Ce-free α-Fe₂O₃ catalyst. The Fe-O-Ce sites can promote the oxidation of NO to NO₂ on the Fe_0.93Ce_0.07O_x catalyst and further facilitate the reduction of NO_x by NH₃. In addition, the decomposition of NH₄HSO₄ can occur at lower temperatures on the Fe_0.93Ce_0.07O_x catalyst containing atomically dispersed Ce species than on the α-Fe₂O₃ reference catalyst, resulting in the good SO₂/H₂O resistance ability in the NH₃-SCR reaction.

In situ deposition of 0D CeO2 quantum dots on Fe2O3-containing solid waste NH3-SCR catalyst: Enhancing redox and NH3 adsorption ability

As NO_x has been turning into a crucial environmental problem, NH₃-SCR technology with relatively simple device, reliable operation and low secondary pollution, has become a widely used commercial and mature de-nitration technology. However, some weaknesses restricted the further application of commercialized V₂O₅-WO₃/TiO₂ NH₃-SCR catalysts, while Fe₂O₃-based catalysts have received much attention due to their high thermal stability, passable N₂ selectivity and low cost. In this study, Fe₂O₃-containing solid waste derived from Zn extraction process of electric arc furnace dust was exploited as the base material for catalyst preparing. Owing to the complementary and synergistic effect of CeO₂ and Fe₂O₃, 0D CeO₂ quantum dots (CeQDs) with fully-exposed active sites, large specific surface area, and rapid charge transfer have been introduced and deposited onto Fe₂O₃-containing solid waste nanorods. The in-situ deposition of CeQDs led to the admirable enhancement in NH₃-SCR catalytic activity, N₂ selectivity and SO₂ tolerance of the extremely low-cost Fe₂O₃ catalyst. Comprehensive characterizations and DFT calculations describing the adsorption of O₂ and NH₃ were applied to analyze the catalyst structure and further investigate the detailed relationship between structural properties and activity as well as reaction mechanism. This work provides new insights for the high-value utilization of iron-containing solid waste and a practical reference for boosting the performance of NH₃-SCR catalysts by introducing quantum dots.

Remarkable enhancement in the N2 selectivity of NH3-SCR over the CeNb3Fe0.3/TiO2 catalyst in the presence of chlorobenzene

The simultaneous removal of NO_x and dioxins is the frontier of environmental catalysis, which is still in the initial stage and poses several challenges. In this study, a series of CeNb₃Fe_x/TiO₂ (x = 0, 0.3, 0.6, and 1.0) catalysts were prepared by the sol-gel method and examined for the synergistic removal of NO_x and CB. The CeNb₃Fe_0.3/TiO₂ catalyst exhibits an optimum catalytic performance, with an NO_x conversion greater than 95% at 260-380 °C. It also exhibits an optimal CB oxidation activity, in which CB promoted both the NO_x conversion and N₂ selectivity below 250 °C. Moreover, the more favorable ratios of Ce⁴⁺ to Ce³⁺ and plentiful surface-adsorbed oxygen species are the reasons why CeNb₃Fe_0.3/TiO₂ catalyst has better catalytic activity than other catalysts at the lower temperature. Simultaneously, owing to the modulation of Fe to the redox properties of Ce and Nb, the large number of oxygen vacancies and acid sites was generated, and the CeNb₃Fe_0.3/TiO₂ catalyst is beneficial to NO_x reduction and CB oxidation. Furthermore, the results of in situ DRIFTS study reveal the NH₃-SCR reactions over CeNb₃Fe_0.3/TiO₂ catalysts are mainly conformed to by the L-H mechanism (< 350 °C) and E-R mechanism (> 350 °C), respectively, and the multi-pollutant conversion mechanism in the synergistic reaction was systematically studied.

Unraveling SO2-tolerant mechanism over Fe2(SO4)3/TiO2 catalysts for NOx reduction

Developing low-temperature SO₂-tolerant catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NO_x is still a challenging task. The sulfation of active metal oxides and deposition of ammonium bisulfate deactivate catalysts, due to the difficult decomposition of the as-formed sulfate species at low temperatures (<300 °C). In recent years, metal sulfate catalysts have attracted increasing attention owing to their good catalytic activity and strong SO₂ tolerance at higher temperatures (>300°C); however, the SO₂-tolerant mechanism of metal sulfate catalysts is still ambiguous. In this study, Fe₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂ and Ce₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂ catalysts were prepared using the corresponding metal sulfate salt as the precursor. These catalysts were tested for their low-temperature activity and SO₂ tolerance activity. Compared to Ce₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂, Fe₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂ showed significantly better low-temperature activity and SO₂ tolerance. It was demonstrated that less surface sulfate species formed on Fe₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂ and Ce₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂. However, the presence of NO and O₂ could assist the decomposition of NH₄HSO₄ over Fe₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂ at a lower temperature, endowing Fe₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂ with better low-temperature SO₂ tolerance than Ce₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂. This study unraveled the SO₂-tolerant mechanism of Fe₂(SO₄)₃/TiO₂ at lower temperatures (<300 °C), and a potential strategy is proposed for improving the low-temperature SO₂-tolerance of catalysts with Fe₂(SO₄)₃ as the main active component or functional promoter.

Understand the role of redox property and NO adsorption over MnFeOx for NH3-SCR

Widening the operation temperature window of selective catalytic reduction NO by NH3 (NH3-SCR) is a challenge to meet the increasingly stringent emission control regulations of NOx. Hence, MnFeOx with different...

Synergistic promotion of transition metal ion-exchange in TiO2 nanoarray-based monolithic catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3

The improved performance of the multi-component Cu–Ce–Mn/TNA catalysts over the mono-metallic catalysts demonstrated the synergistic promotion of multi-transition-metal-doped nanoarray catalysts for efficient NO abatement.

Complete and rapid degradation of glyphosate with Fe3Ce1Ox catalyst for peroxymonosulfate activation at room temperature

Glyphosate, a common broad-spectrum herbicide, is a serious environmental pollutant that causes a significant threat to humans. Hence, there is a pressing task to remove glyphosate from the environment. Here, we report an excellent Fe3Ce1Ox catalyst synthesized via the one-step co-precipitation method for activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to degrade glyphosate at 25 °C. As a result, glyphosate is completely degraded with a high degradation rate of 400 mg L-1·h-1, and the TOC and TN removals are 85.6% and 80.8%, respectively. As proven by systematic characterizations, the Fe-Ce synergistic effect plays a significant role in promoting PMS activation. The main reactive oxygen species for glyphosate oxidation are surface-bound SO4-· and ·OH, produced by activating PMS by electron transfer between Fe2+/Fe3+ and Ce3+/Ce4+ of Fe3Ce1Ox. In light of the products determined, the possible degradation process of glyphosate is also speculated: C-N and C-P bonds of glyphosate molecules are attacked to form aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) and orthophosphate (PO43-) by surface-bound SO4-· and ·OH that continuously mineralize and dephosphorylate AMPA to generate small molecules and inorganic ions, such as H2O and PO43-. The results of this work suggest that Fe3Ce1Ox/PMS could provide a potential candidate for efficiently removing organic compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus from wastewater.

Promotion of NH3-SCR activity by sulfate-modification over mesoporous Fe doped CeO2 catalyst: Structure and mechanism

The mesoporous Fe doped CeO₂ catalyst after modifying organic sulfate functional groups show an excellent activity with above 80% NO_x conversion in a temperature range of 250-450 °C. These organic-like sulfate groups bound to the Fe-O-Ce species leads to the strong electron interaction between Fe³⁺-O-Ce⁴⁺ species and sulfate groups, which modifies the acidity and redox properties of catalyst. The strong ability of S˭O/S-O in sulfate groups to accommodate electrons from a basic molecule is a driving force in the generation of acidic properties, and thus promotes to produce new Brønsted acid sites. The bondage of Fe-O-Ce species obviously inhibits the creation of thermostable bidentate NO₃^- species. Besides, the redox cycles between Fe³⁺ and Ce⁴⁺ are disrupted, thus inhibiting NH₃ oxidation at medium-high temperatures and resulting in the increase of NO_x conversion. Furthermore, the in situ DRIFTS results show that for the fresh samples, the coordinate NH₃ reacts not only with NO₃^- through L-H mechanism, but also with oxygen species to form NO_x. Differently for sulfated sample, the coordinate NH₃ might react with achieved NO₂ instead of the oxygen species through E-R mechanism, meanwhile the NH₄⁺ could react with the NO₃^- species through L-H mechanism.

Engineering of crystal phase over porous MnO2 with 3D morphology for highly efficient elimination of H2S

In the present work, we report a facile oxalate-derived hydrothermal method to fabricate α-, β- and δ-MnO₂ catalysts with hierarchically porous structure and study the phase-dependent behavior for selective oxidation of H₂S over MnO₂ catalysts. It was disclosed that the oxygen vacancy, reducibility and acid property of MnO₂ are essentially determined by the crystalline phase. Systematic experiments demonstrate that δ-MnO₂ is superior in active oxygen species, activation energy and H₂S adsorption capacity among the prepared catalysts. As a consequence, δ-MnO₂ nanosphere with a hierarchically porous structure shows high activity and stability with almost 100% H₂S conversion and sulfur selectivity at 210 °C, better than majority of reported Mn-based materials. Meanwhile, hierarchically porous structure of δ-MnO₂ nanosphere alleviates the generation of by-product SO₂ and sulfate, promoting the adoptability of Mn-based catalysts in industrial applications.

Selective catalytic reduction of NO by Co-Mn based nanocatalysts

One of the most significant aspects in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxides (NOx) is developing suitable catalysts by which the process occurs in a favorable way. At the present work SCR reaction by ammonia (NH3-SCR) was conducted using Co-Mn spinel and its composite with Fe-Mn spinel, as nanocatalysts. The nanocatalysts were fabricated through liquid routes and then their physicochemical properties such as phase composition, degree of agglomeration, particle size distribution, specific surface area and also surface acidic sites have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy mapping, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3-TPD) analysis techniques. The catalytic activity tests in a temperature window of 150–400 °C and gas hourly space velocities of 10,000, 18,000 and 30,000 h−1 revealed that almost in all studied conditions, CoMn2O4/FeMn2O4 nanocomposite exhibited better performance in SCR reaction than CoMn2O4 spinel.

Understanding the high performance of an iron-antimony binary metal oxide catalyst in selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide with ammonia and its tolerance of water/sulfur dioxide

In recent years, Fe-based catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH₃ (NH₃-SCR) have been attracting more attention. In this work, a novel Fe-Sb binary metal oxide catalyst was synthesized using the ethylene glycol assisted co-precipitation method and was characterized using a series of techniques. It was found that the catalyst with a molar ratio of 7:3 (Fe:Sb) displayed the best NH₃-SCR activity with 100% conversion of NO_x (nitrogen oxides) over a wide temperature window and with good resistance to H₂O + SO₂ at 250 °C. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and in situ diffused reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS) of NO_x adsorption results suggested that strong electron interactions between Fe and Sb in Fe-O-Sb species existed and electrons of Sb could be transferred to Fe through the 2Fe³⁺ + Sb³⁺ ↔ 2Fe²⁺ + Sb⁵⁺ redox cycle. The introduction of Sb significantly improved the adsorption behaviour of NO_x species on the Fe_0.7Sb_0.3O_x surface, which benefitted the adsorption/transformation of NO_x, thereby facilitating the NH₃-SCR reaction. In addition, the Fe_0.7Sb_0.3O_x catalyst demonstrated a good tolerance of H₂O and SO₂, since the decomposition of NH₄HSO₄ on the catalyst surface was promoted by the introduction of Sb.

SO2-Tolerant NOx Reduction by Marvelously Suppressing SO2 Adsorption over FeδCe1-δVO4 Catalysts

SO₂-tolerant selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x at low temperature is still challenging. Traditional metal oxide catalysts are prone to be sulfated and the as-formed sulfates are difficult to decompose. In this study, we discovered that SO₂ adsorption could be largely restrained over Fe_δCe_1-δVO₄ catalysts, which effectively restrained the deposition of sulfate species and endowed catalysts with strong SO₂ tolerance at an extremely low temperature of 240 °C. The increasing oxygen vacancies, enhanced redox properties, and improved acidity contributed to the SCR activity of the Fe_δCe_1-δVO₄ catalyst. The reaction pathway changed from the reaction between bidentate nitrate and the NH₃ species over CeVO₄ catalysts via the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism to that between gaseous NO_x and the NH₄⁺/NH₃ species over Fe_δCe_1-δVO₄ catalysts via the Eley-Rideal mechanism. The effective suppression of SO₂ adsorption allowed Fe_δCe_1-δVO₄ catalysts to maintain the Eley-Rideal pathways on account of the reduced formation of sulfate species. This work demonstrated an effective route to improve SO₂ tolerance via modulating SO₂ adsorption on Ce-based vanadate catalysts, which presented a new point for the development of high-performance SO₂-tolerant SCR catalysts.

FeCeOx Supported Ni, Sn Catalysts for the High-Temperature Water–Gas Shift Reaction

In this work, the effect of monometallic Ni or Sn and bimetallic NiSn deposition on the activity of FeCeOx catalysts in high-temperature water–gas (HT-WGS) reactions was investigated. It was found that the HT-WGS performance of FeCeOx has significantly improved after the deposition of Sn together with Ni on it. Furthermore, the bimetallic NiSn/FeCeOx catalyst showed higher activity compared to the monometallic Ni/FeCeOx and Sn/FeCeOx catalysts within the tested temperature range (450–600 °C). Although the Ni/FeCeOx catalyst showed methanation activity at a temperature below 550 °C, the NiSn/FeCeOx catalyst suppressed the methane formation to zero in the WGS. Besides, the NiSn/FeCeOx catalyst exhibited an excellent time-on-stream stability without methanation reaction, even at a steam-to-CO ratio as low as 0.8. The combination of Ni and Sn supported on FeCeOx led to a large lattice strain, the formation of NiSn alloy, and a strong synergistic effect between the bimetallic NiSn and FeCeOx mixed oxide support interface. All these features are very important in achieving the best activity and stability of NiSn/FeCeOx in the HT-WGS reaction.

The Role of Nitrate on the Sol-Gel Spread Self-Combustion Process and Its Effect on the NH3-SCR Activity of Magnetic Iron-Based Catalyst

Sol-gel spread self-combustion is the burning of the complexing agent in dried gel and the oxidant. Meanwhile, high temperature takes place during the combustion process, which is harmful to the pore structure of the catalyst. The nitrate from metal nitrate precursors as an oxidant could participate in the spread of the self-combustion process. Therefore, the influence of nitrate from metal nitrate on the spread self-combustion of an iron–cerium–tungsten citric acid gel and its catalytic performance of NOx reduction were investigated by removing nitrate via the dissolution of washing co-precipitation with citric acid and re-introducing nitric acid into the former solution. It was found that the removal of nitrate contributes to enhancing the NH3–SCR activity of the magnetic mixed oxide catalyst. The NOx reduction efficiency was close to 100% for Fe85Ce10W5–CP–CA at 250 °C while the highest was only 80% for the others. The results of thermal analysis demonstrate that the spread self-combustion process of citric acid dried gel is enhanced by re-introducing nitric acid into the citric acid dissolved solution when compared with the removal of nitrate. In addition, the removal of nitrate helps in the formation of γ-Fe2O3 crystallite in the catalyst, refining the particle size of the catalyst and increasing its pore volume. The removal of nitrate also contributes to the formation of Lewis acid sites and Brønsted acid sites on the surface of the catalyst compared with the re-introduction of nitric acid. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) demonstrates that both Eley–Rideal (E–R) and Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) mechanisms exist over Fe85Ce10W5–CP–CA at 250 °C with E–R as its main mechanism.

Facile inverse micelle fabrication of magnetic ordered mesoporous iron cerium bimetal oxides with excellent performance for arsenic removal from water

In this study, magnetic ordered mesoporous Fe/Ce bimetal oxides (OMICs) were successfully synthesized via the modified sol-gel-based inverse micelle method. The textural/structure properties, surface chemistry and adsorption behavior of OMICs could be easily adjusted by using the calcination temperature. The sintering of samples would decrease the surface area, while expand the pore and crystallite size, which resulted in the formation of highly ordered inner-connected structure. Compared with pure mesoporous iron oxides (MI) and mesoporous cerium oxides (MC), this ordered mesoporous iron-cerium bimetal oxides (OMIC-3, 450 °C) exhibited remarkable arsenic adsorption performance. The maximum adsorption capacities of As(III) and As(V) for OMIC-3 were 281.34 and 216.72 mg/g, respectively, and both As(III)/As(V) adsorption kinetics were well described by the pseudo-second order. The ionic strength and coexisting ions (except SiO₃^2- and PO₄^3-) did not affect arsenic removal, while humic acid (HA) significantly influenced on the arsenic removal even at a lower concentration. The adsorption mechanism study revealed that both the surface charge and surface M-OH groups of OMIC-3 were played the key roles in arsenic removal. The reusable property suggested that this magnetic OMIC-3 was a promising excellent adsorbent for decontamination of arsenic-polluted (especially As(III)-polluted) wastewater.

Tuning effect of amorphous Fe2O3 on Mn3O4 for efficient atom-economic synthesis of imines at low temperature: improving [O] transfer cycle of Mn3+/Mn2+ in Mn3O4

A novel Fe₂O₃ modified Mn₃O₄ catalyst (Fe₅Mn₅-100) has been prepared by adopting a simple co-precipitation method following low temperature baking. Fe₅Mn₅-100 showed exceptionally high catalytic activity for the production of imine.

Enhanced CH4 and CO Oxidation over Ce1- xFe xO2-δ Hybrid Catalysts by Tuning the Lattice Distortion and the State of Surface Iron Species

CeO₂-Fe₂O₃ mixed oxides are very attractive as catalysts for catalytic oxidation. Herein, we report the structural dependence of the Ce_{1- x}Fe _xO_2-δ catalysts for CH₄ combustion and CO oxidation via changing lattice distortion degrees, surface Fe₂O₃ states, and oxygen vacancy concentrations. The lattice distortion degree and oxygen vacancy concentration of Ce-Fe-O solid solution can be tuned by changing the contents of Fe and the precipitation temperatures in the preparation process. The precipitation at relatively high temperature (70 °C) promotes the lattice distortion, whereas a lower temperature (0 °C) helps the formation of surface oxygen vacancies. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared/Raman experiments and the physicochemical characterization suggest that both the CO and CH₄ oxidations mainly follow a Mars-van Krevelen mechanism. Both the lattice distortion and the surface iron species play a crucial role in determining the catalytic activity by affecting the redox property of the catalysts. The surface iron species, combined with the oxygen vacancies, improve the catalytic performance by enhancing the adsorption capacity of reactants and reducibility of catalysts. The lattice distortion of CeO₂ contributes to the catalytic activity by tuning the oxygen mobility in the bulk, which promotes the re-oxidation rate of catalysts.