Unravelling the functional complexity of oxygen-containing groups on carbon for the reduction of NO with NH3

Abstract

BackgroundOxygen-containing groups on carbon materials play a crucial role in thermocatalytic and electrocatalytic reactions. A series of carbon-based catalysts with various oxygen-containing groups were synthesized by hydrogen peroxide oxidation for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH3. MethodsThe textural properties and oxygen-containing groups types were measured by N2 adsorption-desorption and spectroscopic characterization, respectively. Denitrification experiment results show the denitrification efficiency is correlated with the oxygen contents. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that oxygen-containing groups can promote the chemisorption for NO and NH3, thus resulting in high performance for NO reduction. Significant findingsThe carboxyl and phenol groups on carbon materials facilitate the catalytic performance of denitrification. Furthermore, based on mechanism analysis that the formation of CO (NH4) and C(NO) on surface oxides is considered significant steps for NO reduction with NH3. Our finding paves a new strategy for the design and synthesis of SCR catalysts with excellent activity for oxygen-containing carbon material at a relatively low temperature.