Enhanced Toluene Combustion over Highly Homogeneous Iron Manganese Oxide Nanocatalysts

Employing redox-precipitation reactions among MnO4+, Fe2+, and Mn2+, a facile synthetic route for highly homogeneous FeMn oxide (Fe1Mn2-RP) has been developed, which can achieve a superior catalytic performance in toluene combustion with T-50 and T-90 of 186 and 197 degrees C, respectively (500 ppm toluene/humid air, GHSV = 50,000 h(-1)). XRD, N-2 sorption isotherms, and TEM characterization demonstrated the formation of a homogeneous Fe-Mn-O solid solution with higher surface area for the Fe1Mn2-RP catalyst. The highly homogeneous Fe-Mn-O structure can result in better low temperature reducibility and a higher amount of oxygen electrophilic species evidenced by H-2-TPR and XPS, thus significantly increasing the catalytic activity. At the same time, the Fe1Mn2-RP catalyst showed excellent water/methanol-resistance and stability, demonstrating its great potential for practical application.