CO2 effect on catalytic abatement of VOC emissions over Cu-Co binary oxide films

Abstract

The control of Cu loading in Co3O4 structure was used as noble-free thin-film catalysts for efficient short-chain VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions treatment. All catalysts were capable to decompose C2H2 and C3H6 at high gas hourly space velocity. Slight-promoted Co3O4 catalyst with Cu element resulted in the highest catalytic activity owing to the improved active surface oxygen amount and the high dispersion of Cu. High amount of Cu-loading in the cobalt oxide exhibited a more enhancement of the reaction stability on-stream due to high density of the active phase at the surface. The CO2 effect was investigated. Using DFT (density function theory) calculations, Cu exhibited an active site for C3H6 and C2H2 adsorption, and CO2 could react as an inhibitor in the adsorption process. Such strategy of tailoring the activity and stability-on-stream through the control of Cu-promoting oxide catalysts could establish a promising way to improve the catalytic performance towards gas emissions control.