Catalytic decomposition of low level ozone with gold nanoparticles supported on activated carbon

Highly dispersed gold nanoparticles were supported on coal-based activated carbon (AC) by a sol immobilization method and were used to investigate their catalytic activity for low-level ozone decomposition at ambient temperature. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the catalysts before and after ozone decomposition. The results showed that the supported gold nanoparticles prepared with microwave heating were much smaller and more uniformly dispersed on the activated carbon than those prepared with traditional conduction heating, exhibiting higher catalytic activity for ozone decomposition. The pH values of gold precursor solution significantly influenced the catalytic activity of supported gold for ozone decomposition, and the best pH value was 8. In the case of space velocity of 120000 h(-1), inlet ozone concentration of 50 mg/m(3), and relative humidity of 45%, the Au/AC catalyst maintained the ozone removal ratio at 90.7% after 2500 min. After being used for ozone decomposition, the surface carbon of the catalyst was partly oxidized and the oxygen content increased accordingly, while its specific surface area and pore volume only decreased a little. Ozone was mainly catalytically decomposed by the gold nanoparticles supported on the activated carbon.