Nitrogen-Doped Pitch-Based Activated Carbon Fibers with Multi-Dimensional Metal Nanoparticle Distribution for the Effective Removal of NO

Abstract

The design of catalytic materials for NOX removal by the selective catalytic reduction with NH3 (NH3-SCR) has been a focus of research in the field of waste gas treatment. In this work, pitch-based activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were impregnated with copper nitrate and cerium nitrate, and then the ACFs that were loaded with bimetallic nanoparticles (ACF@Cu/Ce) were obtained after the pyrolyzation and reduction were performed. Moreover, the ACF@Cu/Ce were furtherly treated through the chemical vapor deposition and NH3 activation, through which the N-doped carbon nanofibers (N-CNFs) were grown on the surface of the ACFs. Thus, the catalytic material with a multi-dimensional metal nanoparticle distribution and nitrogen-rich network structure, namely the N-CNF/ACF@Cu/Ce, was constructed. In the NH3-SCR reaction, the NO conversion of the N-CNF/ACF@Cu/Ce could be maintained at about 72~81% in a wide temperature window of 295~495 °C, which enabled the N-CNF/ACF@Cu/Ce to meet the requirements of the practical applications.