Enhancement of the activity of Cu/TiO2 catalyst by Eu modification for selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3

The Cu/TiO2 catalysts with the addition of Eu were developed by the sol-gel way for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx by NH3. Activity tests revealed that CuEu/TiO2-0.15 catalyst showed the optimal de-NOx performance in a wide temperature range (150-300 degrees C), along with an admirable SO2 tolerance. According to characterization analysis, the relationship between the NH3-SCR performance and physicochemical characters of samples was explored. The adjunction of Eu on Cu/TiO2 catalyst can contribute to the formation of a large amount of Cu2+, adsorbed oxygen, and acid sites on the catalyst surface. Moreover, the Eu addition on Cu/TiO2 is favorable to the generation of activated NOx and NH3 substances adsorbed on the catalyst surface, which would conduce to the NH3-SCR process by Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism effectively.