Revealing the effect of paired redox-acid sites on metal oxide catalysts for efficient NOx removal by NH3-SCR

Transformation of Arsenic from Poison into Active Site by Construction of Unique AsOx/CeO2 Interface for Stable NOx Removal

Arsenic in the flue gas has been widely reported as a common poison for SCR catalysts; however, an appropriate coping strategy is still lacking to improve the arsenic resistance performance. Herein, a unique AsOx/CeO2 interface is constructed to transform arsenic from poison into active site with balanced acid-redox property, successfully achieving efficient NOx removal. The optimized AsOx/CeO2 exhibits high NOx removal efficiency, four times that of the As-poisoned V2O5/TiO2 catalyst, and even comparable to the state-of-the-art SCR catalysts. It was found that the As-O-Ce interfacial sites in oxygen-bridged As dimers on CeO2 can provide both Lewis acid sites and active lattice oxygen species, enhancing the adsorption and activation of NH3 to form key -NH2 intermediates, thereby facilitating the NH3-SCR reaction. More surprisingly, a thin CeO2 layer on the top of V2O5/TiO2 can capture arsenic to protect catalysts from arsenic attacking, which improves the catalytic activity to 2.8 × 10-7 mol g-1 s-1, even higher than that of fresh V2O5/TiO2 (2.0 × 10-7 mol g-1 s-1). Therefore, this strategy provides new ideas not only for designing antipoisoning SCR catalysts but also a feasible solution for the stable operation of commercial SCR catalysts in arsenic-containing flue gas.

Oxygen and Electron Storage Effects in W-Modified Ceria Catalysts for Ammonia Conversion

Tungsten-modified CeO2 is an excellent catalyst for the catalytic conversion of ammonia. However, the geometric and electronic properties of this catalyst and the detailed reaction mechanisms are not well understood. In this work, the potential configurations of various monomer tungsten oxides supported on the CeO2(111) surface (WOX(x = 0-4)/CeO2(111)) are systematically studied and their relative stabilities are evaluated by using on-site Coulomb interaction corrected density functional theory calculations. Their performances are also investigated in enhancing the catalytic efficiency of NH3 adsorption and activation. It is found that the WOx clusters can always form tetrahedron-like structures on the CeO2(111) surface, and the CeO2(111) can exhibit both oxygen- and electron-storage roles to help the WOX maintain such tetrahedron-like WO4 structures and keep the W species at the highest 6+ state. Moreover, the flexibility of the tetrahedral WO4 structure leads to the preferential heterolytic NH3 dissociation at the WO sites, forming stable WNH2 and OH species. This study deepens the understanding of the unique oxygen- and electron-storage effects of the CeO2 support, it also provides valuable insights into the extraordinary catalytic properties of the W-modified CeO2 in NH3 conversion, paving the way for the rational design of more efficient CeO2-based NH3 treatment catalysts.

Water-Driven Surface Lattice Oxygen Activation in MnO2 for Promoted Low-Temperature NH3-SCR

Water is ubiquitous in various heterogeneous catalytic reactions, where it can be easily adsorbed, chemically dissociated, and diffused on catalyst surfaces, inevitably influencing the catalytic process. However, the specific role of water in these reactions remains unclear. In this study, we innovatively propose that H2O-driven surface lattice oxygen activation in γ-MnO2 significantly enhances low-temperature NH3-SCR. The proton from water dissociation activates the surface lattice oxygen in γ-MnO2, giving rise to a doubling of catalytic activity (achieving 90% NO conversion at 100 °C) and remarkable stability. Comprehensive in situ characterizations and calculations reveal that spontaneous proton diffusion to the surface lattice oxygen reduces the orbital overlap between the protonated oxygen atom and its neighboring Mn atom. Consequently, the Mn-O bond is weakened and the surface lattice oxygen is effectively activated to provide excess oxygen vacancies available for converting O2 into O2-. Therefore, the redox property of Mn-H is improved, leading to enhanced NH3 oxidation-dehydrogenation and NO oxidation processes, which are crucial for low-temperature NH3-SCR. This work provides a deeper understanding and fresh perspectives on the water promotion mechanism in low-temperature NOx elimination.

A novel high activity MnXFe3-XO4 spinel catalyst for selective catalytic reduction of NO using NH3 prepared by a short process from natural minerals for low-temperature sintering flue gas: Effect of X value on catalytic mechanism

The process of smelting and purifying the catalyst precursor salt from minerals is extremely complex, which directly leads to high catalyst costs and serious secondary pollution. In order to achieve energy saving and emission reduction in the catalyst preparation process, in-situ synthesis of catalyst materials from natural minerals is a new research direction. In this study, we firstly explored the optimal X value of MnXFe3-XO4 for the NH3 selective catalytic reduction of NO (NH3-SCR) reaction, i.e., the Mn, Fe ratio, and then prepared a novel highly active mineral-based pure phase MnXFe3-XO4 spinel NH3-SCR catalyst by natural ferromanganese ore fines with iron-red fines (Fe2O3) allotment through in situ solid-phase synthesis and magnetic separation methods according to this ratio. The results show that the X value of 1.5 (Mn1.5Fe1.5O4) is the best for NH3-SCR reaction. Mn1.5Fe1.5O4 nano-particles (201 nm) has nearly 100 % NO conversion (with 5 % H2O(g)) at 125-300 °C. The combination of characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculation shows that the catalytic process of Eley-Rideal (E-R) dehydrogenation is enhanced at both the active site Mn site and Fe site, which is a key factor in the acceleration of the NH3-SCR reaction with increasing X value at the MnXFe3-XO4 surface.

Tuning the Interaction between Platinum Single Atoms and Ceria by Zirconia Doping for Efficient Catalytic Ammonia Oxidation

Aiming at the development of an efficient NH3 oxidation catalyst to eliminate the harmful NH3 slip from the stationary flue gas denitrification system and diesel exhaust aftertreatment system, a facile ZrO2 doping strategy was proposed to construct Pt1/CexZr1-xO2 catalysts with a tunable Pt-CeO2 interaction strength and Pt-O-Ce coordination environment. According to the results of systematic characterizations, Pt species supported on CexZr1-xO2 were mainly in the form of single atoms when x ≥ 0.7, and the strength of the Pt-CeO2 interaction and the coordination number of Pt-O-Ce bond (CNPt-O-Ce) on Pt1/CexZr1-xO2 showed a volcanic change as a function of the ZrO2 doping amount. It was proposed that the balance between the reasonable concentration of oxygen defects and limited surface Zr-Ox species well accounted for the strongest Pt-CeO2 interaction and the highest CNPt-O-Ce on Pt/Ce0.9Zr0.1O2. It was observed that the Pt/Ce0.9Zr0.1O2 catalyst exhibited much higher NH3 oxidation activity than other Pt/CexZr1-xO2 catalysts. The mechanism study revealed that the Pt1 species with the stronger Pt-CeO2 interaction and higher CNPt-O-Ce within Pt/Ce0.9Zr0.1O2 could better activate NH3 adsorbed on Lewis acid sites to react with O2 thus resulting in superior NH3 oxidation activity. This work provides a new approach for designing highly efficient Pt/CeO2 based catalysts for low-temperature NH3 oxidation.

Facile H2O-Contributed O2 Activation Strategy over Mn-Based SCR Catalysts to Counteract SO2 Poisoning

Mn-based catalysts preferred in low-temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) are susceptible to SO2 poisoning. The stubborn sulfates make insufficient O2 activation and result in deficient reactive oxygen species (ROS) for activating reaction molecules. H2O has long been regarded as an accomplice to SO2, hastening catalyst deactivation. However, such a negative impression of the SCR reaction was reversed by our recent research. Here, we reported a H2O contribution over Mn-based SCR catalysts to counteract SO2 poisoning through accessible O2 activation, in which O2 was synergistically activated with H2O to generate ROS for less deactivation and more expected regeneration. The resulting ROS benefited from the energetically favorable route supported by water-induced Ea reduction and was actively involved in the NH3 activation and NO oxidation process. Besides, ROS maintained high stability over the SO2 + H2O-deactivated γ-MnO2 catalyst throughout the mild thermal treatment, achieving complete regeneration of its own NO disposal ability. This strategy was proven to be universally applicable to other Mn-based catalysts.

Revealing the Dynamic Behavior of Active Sites on Acid-Functionalized CeO2 Catalysts for NOx Reduction

Unraveling the dynamics of the active sites upon CeO₂-based catalysts in selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides by ammonia (NH₃-SCR) is challenging. In this work, we prepared tungsten-acidified and sulfated CeO₂ catalysts and used operando spectroscopy to reveal the dynamics of acid sites and redox sites on catalysts during NH₃-SCR reaction. We found that both Lewis and Brønsted acid sites are needed to participate in the catalytic reaction. Notably, Brønsted acid sites are the main active sites after a tungsten-acidified or sulfated treatment, and the change of Brønsted acid sites significantly affects the NO_x removal. Moreover, acid functionalization promotes the cerium species cycle between Ce⁴⁺ and Ce³⁺ for the NO_x reduction. This work is critical to deeply understanding the natural properties of active sites, and it also provides new insights into the mechanism for NH₃-SCR over CeO₂-based catalysts.

Study on the effect of Ce-Cu doping on Mn/γ-Al2O3 catalyst for selective catalytic reduction in NO with NH3

A series of Mn/γ-Al₂O₃, Mn-Cu/γ-Al₂O₃, Mn-Ce/γ-Al₂O₃ and Mn-Ce-Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts were prepared by equal volume impregnation. The denitrification effects of the different catalysts were studied by activity measurement, X-ray diffraction, Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller surface area tests, Scanning electron microscopy, H₂-temperature programmed reduction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The experimental results show that Ce and Cu are added to a Mn/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst as bimetallic additives, which weakens the interaction between Mn and the carrier, improves the dispersion of MnO_x on the surface of the carrier, improves the specific surface area of the catalyst, and improves the reducibility. Mn-Ce-Cu/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst reaches a maximum conversion of 92% at 202 °C. Also, the addition of the auxiliary metals promotes the reaction mechanism to a certain extent, and the addition of Ce especially promotes the conversion of NO-NO₂, which is conducive to the production of intermediate products that promote the NH₃-SCR reaction.

Zeolites as a Class of Semiconductors for High-Performance Electrically Transduced Sensing

Zeolites are widely used as catalysts and adsorbents in the chemical industry, but their potential for electronic devices has been stunted to date, as they are commonly recognized as electronic insulators. Here, we have for the first time demonstrated that Na-type ZSM-5 zeolites are ultrawide-direct-band-gap semiconductors based on optical spectroscopy, variable-temperature current-voltage characteristics, and photoelectric effect as well as electronic structure theoretical calculations and further unraveled the band-like charge transport mechanism in electrically conductive zeolites. The increase in charge-compensating Na⁺ cations in Na-ZSM-5 decreases the band gap and affects its density of states, shifting the Fermi level close to the conduction band. Remarkably, the semiconducting Na-ZSM-5 zeolites have been first applied for constructing electrically transduced sensors that can sense trace-level (77 ppb) ammonia with unprecedentedly high sensitivity, negligible cross-sensitivity, and high stability under moisture ambient conditions compared with conventional semiconducting materials and conductive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The charge density difference shows that the massive electron transfer between NH₃ molecules and Na⁺ cations ascribed to Lewis acid sites enables electrically transduced chemical sensing. This work opens a new era of zeolites in applications of sensing, optics, and electronics.

Balancing acid and redox sites of phosphorylated CeO2 catalysts for NOx reduction: The promoting and inhibiting mechanism of phosphorus

The role of phosphorus in metal oxide catalysts is still controversial. The precise tuning of the acidic and redox properties of metal oxide catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction in NO_x using NH₃ is also a great challenge. Herein, CeO₂ catalysts with different degrees of phosphorylation were used to study the balance between the acidity and redox property by promoting and inhibiting effects of phosphorus. CeO₂ catalysts phosphorylated with lower phosphorus content (5 wt%) exhibited superior NO_x reduction performance with above 90% NO_x conversion during 240-420 °C due to the balanced acidity and reducibility derived from the highest content of Brønsted acid sites on PO₄^3- to adsorb NH₃ and surface adsorbed oxygen species. Plenty of PO₃^- over CeO₂ catalysts phosphorylated with the higher phosphorus content (≥ 10 wt%) significantly disrupted the balance between the acidity and the redox property due to the reduced acid/redox sites, which resulted in the less active NO_x species. The mechanism of different structural phosphorus species (PO₄^3- and PO₃^-) in promoting or inhibiting the NO_x reduction over CeO₂ catalysts was revealed. This work provides a novel method for qualitative and quantitative study of the relationship between acidity/redox property and activity of catalysts for NO_x reduction.