Morphology and size modulation of Mn2O3 catalysts derived from MnBDC to enhance propane complete oxidation

Abstract

Three Mn2O3 with different morphologies and particle sizes were synthesized using MnBDC as precursor. Interestingly, the morphology and size of MnBDC can be easily regulated by changing the reaction solvents slightly. The Mn2O3-L catalyst with large layers and small crystal size exhibited the best catalytic activity for complete oxidation of propane, with T50 of 266℃ and T90 of 311℃ at the WHSV of 120 L g−1 h−1. The multi-layered structure and small crystal size of Mn2O3-L allowed it to possess a high surface area and more interfacial oxygen defects that facilitated oxygen mobility, improving the catalytic activity. It seems that the large precursor size of MnBDC-L slowed down the decomposition rate of ligands, promoting the formation of large layered structure and small crystal size of Mn2O3-L. This study offers a simple strategy to control the structure and crystal size of Mn2O3 catalysts.