Structure-activity relationship in HC-SCR of NOx, by TEM, O2-chemisorption, and EDXS study of Ag/Al2O3

Ag/alumina catalysts with different silver loading (1.28 - 6 wt %) for lean NO reduction activity were prepared by impregnation and the incipient wetness method. Complementary HRTEM, HAADF, O-2-chemisorption, and EDXS studies were applied to investigate the dependence between silver particle size and catalytic activities of the prepared materials. The catalyst with the lowest silver loading (1.28 wt %) was found to be the most active catalyst in terms of reacted NO molecules per mole of silver. On the basis of the HRTEM, HAADF, and O-2-chemisorption studies it could be concluded that the mean particle size or particle size distribution of the samples alone could not explain the big difference in the activities. EDXS analyses showed on the other hand that all of the samples were very heterogeneous in terms of particle size distribution, e.g., including both small and very big particles. Furthermore, both metallic silver and mainly hexagonal silver oxide (Ag2O) were found to be present in the samples. Despite the valuable information provided by ex situ characterization of the prepared samples, it needs to be emphasized that establishing a structure-reactivity relationship for this type of catalyst requires in situ characterization.