Enhanced catalytic ozonation for NOx removal with CuFe2O4 nanoparticles and mechanism analysis

In this paper, copper ferrite(CuFe2O4), prepared by a hydrothermal method, was successfully utilized in catalytic ozonation for NOx removal. CuFe2O4 shows higher activity (83%) than both CuO (79%) and Fe2O3 (70%). Hydroxyl radicals (center dot OH) have been detected in the catalytic ozonation process, which has been confirmed to determine the catalytic performance of NOx removal. Compared to CuO and Fe2O3, CuFe2O4 exhibits more surface hydroxyl groups and oxygen vacancies, indicating that the synergetic effect of the surface hydroxyl groups and oxygen vacancies plays an important role in the enhancement of the generation of hydroxyl radicals, thus the catalytic activity. A possible mechanism for the catalytic ozonation of NOx was proposed. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.