A Perspective on the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) of NO with NH3 by Supported V2O5-WO3/TiO2 Catalysts

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO, with NH3 to harmless N-2 and H2O plays a crucial role in reducing highly undesirable NO acid gas emissions from large utility boilers, industrial boilers, municipal waste plants, and incinerators. The supported V2O5 WO3/TiO2 catalysts have become the most widely used industrial catalysts for these SCR applications since introduction of this technology in the early 1970s. This Perspective examines the current fundamental understanding and recent advances of the supported V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalyst system: (i) catalyst synthesis, (ii) molecular structures of titania-supported vanadium and tungsten oxide species, (iii) surface acidity, (iv) catalytic active sites, (v) surface reaction intermediates, (vi) reaction mechanism, (vii) rate determining-step, and (viii) reaction kinetics.