Integral structured Co–Mn composite oxides grown on interconnected Ni foam for catalytic toluene oxidation

Non-Stoichiometric BaxMn0.7Cu0.3O3 Perovskites as Catalysts for CO Oxidation: Optimizing the Ba Content

In this work, a series of BaxMn0.7Cu0.3O3 samples (x: 1, 0.9, 0.8, and 0.7, BxMC) was synthesized, characterized, and used as catalysts for CO oxidation reaction. All formulations were active for CO oxidation in the tested conditions. A correlation between the electrical conductivity, obtained by impedance spectroscopy, and the reducibility of the samples, obtained by H2-TPR, was observed. The Ba0.8Mn0.7Cu0.3O3 composition (B0.8MC) showed the best catalytic performance (comparable to that of the 1% Pt/Al2O3 reference sample) during tests conducted under conditions similar to those found in the exhaust gases of current gasoline engines. The characterization data suggest the simultaneous presence of a high Mn(IV)/Mn(III) surface ratio, oxygen vacancies, and reduced copper species, these two latter being key properties for ensuring a high CO conversion percentage as both are active sites for CO oxidation. The reaction temperature and the reactant atmosphere composition seem to be the most important factors for achieving a good catalytic performance, as they strongly determine the location and stability of the reduced copper species.

Unveiling Enhanced PEC Water Oxidation: Morphology Tuning and Interfacial Phase Change in α-Fe2O3@K-OMS-2 Branched Core-Shell Nanoarrays

A simple fabrication method that involves two steps of hydrothermal reaction has been demonstrated for the growth of α-Fe2O3@K-OMS-2 branched core-shell nanoarrays. Different reactant concentrations in the shell-forming step led to different morphologies in the resultant composites, denoted as 0.25 OC, 0.5 OC, and 1.0 OC. Both 0.25 OC and 0.5 OC formed perfect branched core-shell structures, with 0.5 OC possessing longer branches, which were observed by SEM and TEM. The core K-OMS-2 and shell α-Fe2O3 were confirmed by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), EDS mapping, and atomic alignment from high-resolution STEM images. Further investigation with high-resolution HAADF-STEM, EELS, and XPS indicated the existence of an ultrathin layer of Mn3O4 sandwiched at the interface. All composite materials offered greatly enhanced photocurrent density at 1.23 VRHE, compared to the pristine Fe2O3 photoanode (0.33 mA/cm2), and sample 0.5 OC showed the highest photocurrent density of 2.81 mA/cm2. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance was evaluated for the samples by conducting linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), applied bias photo-to-current efficiency (ABPE), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), incident-photo-to-current efficiency (IPCE), transient photocurrent responses, and stability tests. The charge separation and transfer efficiencies, together with the electrochemically active surface area, were also investigated. The significant enhancement in sample 0.5 OC is ascribed to the synergetic effect brought by the longer branches in the core-shell structure, the conductive K-OMS-2 core, and the formation of the Mn3O4 thin layer formed between the core and shell.

Catalytic degradation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) over Ce-Mn-Ti composite oxide catalysts

Developing industrially moldable catalysts with harmonized redox performance and acidity is of great significance for the efficient disposal of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) in actual exhaust gasses. Here, commercial TiO2, typically used for molding catalysts, was chosen as the carrier to fabricate a series of Ce0.02Mn0-0.24TiOx materials with different Mn doping ratios and employed for chlorobenzene (CB) destruction. The introduction of Mn remarkedly facilitated the synergistic effect of each element via the electron transfer processes: Ce3++Mn4+/3+↔Ce4++Mn3+/2+ and Mn4+/3++Ti4+↔Mn3+/2++Ti3+. These synergistic interactions in Ce0.02Mn0.04-0.24TiOx, especially Ce0.02Mn0.16TiOx, significantly elevated the active oxygen species, oxygen vacancies and redox properties, endowing the superior catalytic oxidation of CB. When the Mn doping amount increased to 0.24, a separate Mn3O4 phase appeared, which in turn might weaken the synergistic effect. Furthermore, the acidity of Ce0.02Mn0.04-0.24TiOx was decreased with the Mn doping, regulating the balance of redox property and acidity. Notably, Ce0.02Mn0.16TiOx featured relatively abundant B-acid sites. Its coordinating redox ability and moderate acidity promoted the deep oxidation of CB and RCOOH- intermediates, as well as the rapid desorption of Cl species, thus obtaining sustainable reactivity. In comparison, CeTiOx owned the strongest acidity, however, its poor redox property was not sufficient for the timely oxidative decomposition of the easier adsorbed CB, resulting in its rapid deactivation. This finding provides a promising strategy for the construction of efficient commercial molding catalysts to decompose the industrial-scale CVOCs.

Influences of Composite Electrodeposition Parameters on the Properties of Ni-Doped Co-Mn Composite Spinel Coatings

To enhance the comprehensive performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) ferritic stainless steel (FSS) interconnectors, a novel approach involving composite electrodeposition and thermal conversion is proposed to prepare Ni-doped Co-Mn composite spinel protective coatings on FSS surfaces. The process involves the composite electrodeposition of a Ni-doped Co-Mn precursor coating, followed by thermal conversion to obtain the Co-Mn-Ni composite spinel coating. Crofer 22H was used as the substrate and orthogonal experiments were designed to investigate the influences of deposition solution pH, stirring rate, cathode current density, and the element content of Mn and Ni on the surface morphology and properties of the composite coatings, respectively. The characterization of the prepared coatings was conducted through macroscopic and microscopic morphology observations of the component surface, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, and area specific resistance (ASR) testing, etc. Finally, the optimized composite electrodeposition parameters and the Mn-Ni content ratio in the solution were obtained. Experimental results indicated that the composite spinel coating prepared with the optimized process parameters exhibited excellent adhesion to the substrate, and the diffusion and migration of Cr element has been effectively inhibited. Compared with the substrate, the ASR of the coated components has also been decreased simultaneously, which provided an effective method for the surface modification of SOFC FSS interconnectors.

Establishing efficient toluene elimination over cobalt-manganese bimetallic oxides via constructing strong Co-Mn interaction

Doping proves to be an efficacious method of establishing intermetallic interactions for enhancing toluene oxidation performance of bimetallic oxides. However, conventional bimetallic oxide catalysts are yet to overcome their inadequacy in establishing intermetallic interactions. In this work, the dispersion of Mn-Co bimetallic sites was improved by hydrolytic co-precipitation, strengthening the intermetallic interactions which improved the structural and physicochemical properties of the catalysts, thus significantly enhancing its catalytic behavior. MnCo-H catalysts fabricated by the hydrolytic co-precipitation method showed promising catalytic performance (T50 = 223 °C, T90 = 229 °C), robust stability (at least 100 h) and impressive water resistance (under 10 vol.% of water) for toluene elimination. Hydrolytic co-precipitation has been found to improve dispersion of MnCo elements and to enhance interaction between Co and Mn ions (Mn4+ + Co2+ = Mn3+ + Co3+), resulting in a lower reduction temperature (215 °C) and a weaker Mn-O bond strength, creating more lattice defects and oxygen vacancies, which are responsible for superior catalytic properties of MnCo-H samples. Furthermore, in situ DRIFTs showed that gaseous toluene molecules adsorbed on the surface of MnCo-H were continuously oxidized to benzyl alcohol → benzaldehyde → benzoate, followed by a ring-opening reaction with surface-activated oxygen to convert to maleic anhydride as the final intermediate, which further generates water and carbon dioxide. It was also revealed that the ring-opening reaction for the conversion of benzoic acid to maleic anhydride is the rate-controlling step. This study reveals that optimizing active sites and improving reactive oxygen species by altering the dispersion of bimetals to enhance bimetallic interactions is an effective strategy for the improvement of catalytic behavior, while the hydrolytic co-precipitation method fits well with this corollary.

Preparation of COF-coated nickel foam adsorbents for dispersive solid-phase extraction of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from Chinese herbal medicines

Covalent organic framework coated nickel foam (NF@COF) was prepared as a sorbent for the dispersive solid phase extraction (DSPE) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) prior to their determination by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The structure and morphology of the as-synthesized NF@COF were characterized by different techniques. Various key parameters affecting the performance of the DSPE method, including the amount of sorbent, desorption solvent, desorption volume and time, extraction time, and sample volume, were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, NF@COF combined with GC-MS was successfully applied to the determination of 16 PAHs in CHMs. The method showed wide linearity (20-2000 ng mL-1), low limits of determination (0.3-2.7 ng mL-1), and high recoveries (78.0-124%). These results revealed that NF@COF has the potential for efficient extraction of PAHs from complex samples.

δ-MnO2 decorated layered double oxides in-situ grown on nickel foam towards electrothermal catalysis of n-heptane

Energy-saving and efficient monolithic catalysts are hotspots of catalytic purification of industrial gaseous pollutants. Here, we have developed an electrothermal catalytic mode, in which the ignition temperature required for the reaction is provided by Joule heat generated when the current flows through the catalyst. In this paper, Mn/NiAl/NF, Mn/NiFe/NF and Mn/NF metal-based monolithic catalysts were prepared using nickel foam (NF) as the carrier for thermal and electrothermal catalysis of n-heptane. The results indicated that Mn-based monolithic catalysts exhibit high activity in thermal and electrothermal catalysis. Mn/NiFe/NF achieve conversion of n-heptane more than 99% in electrothermal catalysis under a direct-current (DC) power of 6 W, and energy-saving is 54% compared with thermal catalysis. In addition, the results indicated that the introduction of NiAl (or NiFe) greatly enhanced the catalytic activity of Mn/NF, which attributed to the higher specific surface area, Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺, Ni³⁺/Ni²⁺, adsorbed oxygen species (O_ads)/lattice oxygen species (O_latt), redox performance of the catalyst. Electrothermal catalytic activity was significantly higher than thermal catalytic activity before complete conversion, which may be related to electronic effects. Besides, Mn/NiFe/NF has good cyclic and long-term stability in electrothermal catalysis. This paper provided a theoretical basis for applying electrothermal catalysis in the field of VOCs elimination.

Multiple Interface Coupling in Ultrathin Mn-based Composites for Superior Catalytic Oxidation: Implications of Interface Coupling on Structural Defects

Manganese oxide has been recognized as one of the most promising gaseous heterogeneous catalysts due to its low cost, environmental friendliness, and high catalytic oxidation performance. The modulation of the interfacial coupling effect of manganese oxides by chemical means is considered a critical and effective way to improve the catalytic performance. Herein, a novel one-step synthetic strategy of highly-efficient ultrathin manganese-based catalysts is proposed through optimal regulation of metal/manganese oxide multi-interfacial coupling. Carbon monoxide (CO) and propane (C₃H₈) oxidation are employed as probe reactions to investigate the structure-catalytic mechanism - catalytic performance relationship. The ultrathin manganese (Mn)-based catalyst exhibits superior low-temperature catalytic activity with a 90% conversion of CO/C₃H₈ realized at 106℃ and 350℃. Subsequently, the effect of "interfacial effect" on the intrinsic properties of manganese oxides is revealed. The ultrathin appearance of two-dimensional (2D) manganese dioxide (MnO₂) nanosheets changes the binding force in the vertical direction, thus resulting in an increase in the average manganese-oxygen (Mn-O) bond length and exposing more surface defects. Besides, the introduction of Copper (Cu) species into the catalyst further weakens the Mn-O bond and promotes the generation of oxygen vacancies, which subsequently enhances the oxygen migration rate. This study provides new insights into the optimal design of transition metal oxide interfacial assemblies for efficient catalytic reactions.

Improved redox synthesis of Mn–Co bimetallic oxide catalysts using citric acid and their toluene oxidation activity

In this work, high-activity cobalt-doped α-MnO₂ hybrid materials were prepared using the citric acid oxidation reduction (CR) technique and applied to the catalytic oxidation of toluene. Compared to the traditional processes such as sol–gel, co-precipitation and our previous reported self-driving combustion process, the microstructure of Mn–Co bimetallic oxide catalyst is easier to regulated as well as the dispersion of active phase. Moreover, some accurate characterization techniques such as XRD, H₂-TPR, O₂-TPD, SEM, TEM, and XPS have been employed, to further illustrate the intrinsic factors for the efficient catalytic oxidation of toluene. It was ultimately found that the CR-Mn10Co1 prepared by citric acid oxidation reduction method could catalyze the oxidation of 90% of toluene at 232 °C, and its excellent catalytic performance was significantly related to its large specific surface area, excellent oxidation reduction ability, and abundant Mn³⁺ species and oxygen vacancy content. Therefore, citric acid oxidation reduction (CR) provides a convenient and effective route for the efficient and low-cost synthesis of Mn–Co catalysts for removing VOCs.

The CR method was used to synthesize a nanorod CoO₂/α-MnO₂ catalyst with large specific surface area and abundant oxygen vacancies.

Biomimetic Tremelliform Ultrathin MnO2/CuO Nanosheets on Kaolinite Driving Superior Catalytic Oxidation: An Example of CO

Highly efficient three-dimensional (3D) kaolinite/MnO₂-CuO (KM@CuO-NO₃) catalysts were synthesized by a mild biomimetic strategy. Kaolinite flakes were uniformly wrapped by ultrathin tremelliform MnO₂ nanosheets with thicknesses of around 1.0-1.5 nm. Si-O and Al-O groups in kaolinite hosted MnO₂ nanosheets to generate a robust composite structure. The ultrathin MnO₂ lamellar structure exhibited excellent stability even after calcination above 350 °C. Kaolinite/MnO₂ exhibited abundant edges, sharp corners, and interconnected diffusion channels, which are superior to the common stacked structure. Open channels guaranteed fast transportation and migration of CO and O₂ during CO oxidation. The synthesized KM@CuO-NO₃ achieved a 90% CO conversion efficiency at a relatively low temperature (110 °C). Furthermore, the abundant oxygen vacancies on KM@CuO-NO₃ assisted the adsorption and activation of oxygen species and thus enhanced the oxygen mobility and reactivity in the catalytic process. The mechanism results suggest that CuO introduced to the catalyst not only acted as CO active sites but also weakened the Mn-O bond, subsequently improved the mobilities of the oxygen species, which was found to contribute to its high activity for CO oxidation. This study provides new conceptual insights into rationally regulating structural assembly between transition metal oxides and natural minerals for high-performance catalysis reactions.

Synergistic effects in Mn-Co mixed oxide supported on cordierite honeycomb for catalytic deep oxidation of VOCs

A series of Co-Mn mixed oxide catalyst supported on a cordierite monolith was facilely synthesized by ultrasonic impregnation. Its catalytic performance was evaluated in the combustion of toluene, ethyl acetate and its mixture. It was observed that with incorporating Mn into Co₃O₄, the formation of solid solution with spinel structure could significantly improve the catalytic activity of pure phase Co₃O₄. And the monolithic Co_0.67Mn_0.33O_x catalyst showed the best catalytic performance in the catalytic oxidation of toluene and ethyl acetate which could be completely oxidized at 220 and 180°C respectively under the reaction velocity (WHSV) about 45,000 mL/(g•hr) and pollutant concentration of 500 ppmV. The total conversion temperature of the VOCs mixture was at 230°C (500 ppmV toluene and 500 ppmV ethyl acetate) and determined by the temperature at which the most difficult molecule was oxidized. The excellent catalytic performance of monolithic Co_0.67Mn_0.33O_x was attributed to the higher content of Mn³⁺, Co³⁺, surface adsorbed oxygen and better redox ability. The prepared catalyst showed the good mechanical stability, reaction stability, and good adaptability to different reaction conditions.

Current progress on catalytic oxidation of toluene: a review

Toluene is one of the pollutants that are dangerous to the environment and human health and has been sorted into priority pollutants; hence, the control of its emission is necessary. Due to severe problems caused by toluene, different techniques for the abatement of toluene have been developed. Catalytic oxidation is one of the promising methods and effective technologies for toluene degradation as it oxidizes it to CO₂ and does not deliver other pollutants to the environment. This paper highlights the recent progressive advancement of the catalysts for toluene oxidation. Five categories of catalysts, including noble metal catalysts, transition metal catalysts, perovskite catalysts, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-based catalysts, and spinel catalysts reported in the past half a decade (2015-2020), are reviewed. Various factors that influence their catalytic activities, such as morphology and structure, preparation methods, specific surface area, relative humidity, and coke formation, are discussed. Furthermore, the reaction mechanisms and kinetics for catalytic oxidation of toluene are also discussed.

Low Temperature Combustion of VOCs with Enhanced Catalytic Activity Over MnO2 Nanotubes Loaded with Pt and Ni-Fe Spinel

MnO₂ nanotubes loaded with Pt and Ni-Fe spinel were synthesized using simple hydrothermal and sol-gel techniques. After loading with Ni-Fe spinel, the specific surface area of the material increases 3-fold. This change helped to provide more active sites and facilitated the association between the catalyst and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy determined that the adsorbed oxygen concentrations were all greatly increased after Pt loading, indicating that Pt promoted the adsorption of oxygen and so accelerated the combustion process. The performance of the catalyst after loading with 2 wt % Pt was greatly improved, such that the T₉₀ for benzene decomposition was decreased to 113 °C. In addition, the 2% Pt/2Mn@NFO exhibited excellent low-temperature catalytic activity when reacting with low concentrations of toluene and ethyl acetate. This work therefore demonstrates a viable new approach to the development of Mn-based catalysts for the low temperature catalytic remediation of VOCs.

Preparation of MnO2 decorated Co3Fe1Ox powder/monolithic catalyst with improved catalytic activity for toluene oxidation

In this paper, KMnO₄ was used to pre-treat Co₃Fe-layered double hydroxides (LDH) precursor to prepare MnO₂ decorated Co₃Fe₁O_x catalyst. The toluene oxidation performance of the catalyst was investigated systematically. The optimized 0.1MnCF-LDO catalyst exhibited the best catalytic performance, and the temperatures of 50% and 90% toluene conversion (T₅₀ and T₉₀) were 218 and 243°C, respectively. The apparent activation energy (E_a) was 31.6 kJ/mol. The characterization results showed that the pre-redox reaction by KMnO₄ could increase the specific surface area, Co³⁺ species amount and oxygen defect concentration of the catalyst, which are the main reason of the improved toluene catalytic activity. Besides, this method was also applied to enhance toluene oxidation of iron mesh based monolithic catalyst. The 0.1MnCF-LDO/Iron mesh (IM) catalyst showed a 90% toluene conversion at around 316°C which was much lower than that of without MnO₂ addition (359°C). In addition, the water resistant of all the catalysts was studied as well, all the samples showed relatively good water resistance. The toluene conversion still remained to be over >80% even in the presence of 10 vol.% water vapor.

Effect of calcium addition in plasma catalysis for toluene removal by Ni/ZSM-5 : Acidity/basicity, catalytic activity and reaction mechanism

The effect of Ca modification on the Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst for efficient toluene oxidation was studied in a plasma-catalytic system. The Ni/ZSM-5 and Ca-Ni/ZSM-5 catalysts were prepared by a wet impregnation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Pyridine-FTIR spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption of ammonia (NH₃-TPD). Among the catalysts tested, the Ca-Ni/ZSM-5 sample showed the best potential for toluene conversion (90.2%) and CO₂ selectivity (70.7%). Pyridine-FTIR spectra and NH₃-TPD results proved that the introduction of Ca and Ni onto ZSM-5 caused a decrease in the strong and weak acidic sites. In addition, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) result showed that the Ca-Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst reduced the production of undesirable byproducts (such as p-nitrotoluene and methyl benzoate). Calcium in the Ni/ZSM-5 system influenced the acidity and other surface characteristic of the catalyst, as well as directly impacting the reactive plasma species and the intermediates. Finally, possible reaction mechanisms in the plasma catalysis of toluene were also proposed.

Excellent porous environmental nanocatalyst: tactically integrating size-confined highly active MnOx in nanospaces of mesopores enables the promotive catalytic degradation efficiency of organic contaminants

A nanoporous molecular sieve catalyst containing size-confined MnO_x species, which affords excellent environmental catalytic efficiency, was synthesized using a micelle-assisted in situ embedding strategy.