Supported Mn2O3-based catalysts for NO-SCO: an experimental study

In this paper, the NO-SCO (the selective catalytic oxidation of NO) experiments of single-phase Mn2O3, supported Mn2O3/Al2O3, and the Ce-doped MnxCey/Al catalyst system were carried out. The physical and chemical properties of the catalysts were analyzed by XRD, BET, XPS, SEM, O-2-TPD, and H-2-TPR. The effects of loading and Ce doping on catalyst activity were studied. The results show that the Mn2O3 catalyst exhibited the best activity at 300 celcius, and the NO conversion rate of Mn2O3 was 78.2%. The relative content of O-alpha adsorbed on the surface of the Mn-x/Al catalyst decreased obviously by loading Mn2O3 on gamma-Al2O3, which led to the decrease in catalyst activity. And the temperature window moved to the high-temperature region. After doping Ce, the dispersion of Mn enhanced, and the relative content of oxygen O-alpha adsorbed on the surface increased. The low-temperature activity and fluidity of oxygen in catalysts were improved. Among them, the Mn0.2Ce0.08/Al catalyst obtained a high specific surface area, good pore structure, large oxygen storage capacity, and excellent surface oxygen species. The corresponding NO conversion rate reached 83.5% at 290 celcius. Then, the effects of operating parameters such as space velocity, NO concentration, and O-2 content on the catalytic activity of Mn0.2Ce0.08/Al were discussed. The experimental results show that the NO conversion rate of Mn0.2Ce0.08/Al decreased with increasing NO concentration and space velocity. The O-2 content had a positive effect on the catalytic activity of the catalyst. However, the NO conversion rate tended to be stable due to the saturation of oxygen adsorbed on the catalyst. Through cycling experiments, we found that Mn2O3, Mn-0.2/Al, and Mn0.2Ce0.08/Al catalysts showed good oxidation stabilities for NO oxidation. The evaluation of the water and sulfur resistance of the catalyst shows that the toxicity of SO2 was reduced by the aqueous atmosphere to a certain extent. Through the structural optimization of the basic model and the calculation of the NO-SCO reaction path, the results show that the NO-SCO reaction on the Mn2O3 (110) face followed the ER mechanism more. For the Mn2O3/Al2O3 (110) surface, the LH-MvK hybrid mechanism can greatly reduce the desorption energy barrier of the reaction intermediates, which is more favorable for the NO-SCO reaction. The catalytic mechanisms of the MnxCey/Al catalysts require further in-depth research.

Automated summary

In this paper, the NO-SCO experiments of different catalyst systems were conducted and their physical and chemical properties were analyzed. The effects of loading and doping on catalyst activity were studied, and the catalytic mechanisms were investigated. The results show that Mn2O3 exhibited the best activity, and Ce doping improved the catalytic performance. The study provides insights into the optimization of catalyst systems for NO oxidation.