Multi-defects engineering of NiCo2O4 for catalytic propane oxidation

Abstract

High-performance non-noble metal catalyst development is always the pursuit for the VOCs oxidation. Herein, a multi-defective spinel catalyst was intelligently built with a mechano-chemical strategy by Na assisted milling of NiCo2O4, wherein, the incorporation of Ni into the spinel oxide could introduce cationic defects, the etching by Na brought anionic defects, while the milling process fractured the bulk and facilitated the exposure of surface defects. Thereout, the obtained D-NiCo2O4 was endowed with a significantly elevated oxygen vacancies, raised active oxygen species, enhanced oxygen mobility and an increased specific surface area. The beneficial features promise D-NiCo2O4 a superb activity for propane catalytic oxidation, exhibiting a T50 (temperature at 50% propane conversion) of 187 °C and T90 (temperature at 90% propane conversion) of 194 °C at propane space velocity of 60,000 mL·g−1·h−1, which outperformed that of pristine NiCo2O4 and Co3O4 catalyst, making itself one of the most outstanding non-noble metal catalysts for propane oxidation. This work set the paradigm to enhance the VOCs oxidation performance of metal oxide catalyst by multi-defects engineering.