Breaking the Activity-Selectivity Trade-Off for Simultaneous Catalytic Elimination of Nitric Oxide and Chlorobenzene via FeVO4-Fe2O3 Interfacial Charge Transfer

Removing chlorinated organics (chlorobenzene as a model) by a deNOxunit over a bifunctional catalyst has become the frontier of environmental catalysis.However, it is fundamentally challenging to achieve efficient selective catalytic reductionof NOxand chlorobenzene catalytic oxidation due to the trade-offbetween activity andselectivity. Herein, we demonstrated to break such trade-offthrough interfacial chargemodulation on a bifunctional catalyst that is fabricated by integrating FeVO4and Fe2O3semiconductor materials. The optimized FeVO4-Fe2O3catalyst exhibited stablebifunctional removal efficiencies (>95%) for NOxand chlorobenzene with high HClselectivity (>85%), surpassing the state-of-the-art V2O5-WO3/TiO2catalyst. It isidentified from the experimental and theoretical results that the charge transferred from Fe in Fe2O3to V and Fe cations in FeVO4through the interfacial oxygen atoms. The formed gap states decreased the work function and promoted the redox ability of FeVO4,enhancing the bifunctional catalytic activity. Correspondingly, the Fermi level of Fe2O3shifted to a lower position, which increasedthe HCl selectivity and inhibited polychlorinated byproducts. The interfacial charge transfer broke the activity-selectivity trade-offand ensured remarkable bifunctional performance, providing an efficient strategy to design advanced catalysts for multipollutantcontrol.

Automated summary

By modulating interfacial charges, the trade-off between activity and selectivity can be overcome, leading to efficient catalytic reactions, such as selective removal of nitrogen oxides and chlorinated organic compounds.