NH3-SCR Adsorption Research Articles

The enhanced SO2 resistance of Fe-Ti catalyst by W/SO42− co-modification for NH3-SCR: A combined experimental and DFT study

It remains a great challenge to improve the low-temperature SO2 resistance of catalysts applied for selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR). This work develops an outstanding SO2-tolerant Fe-Ti (FT) catalyst by W/SO42− co-modification via a sol–gel method using Fe(NO3)3·9H2O, tetrabutyl titanate, ammonium tungstate and thiourea as raw materials. The physicochemical characterizations, in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were combined to reveal the underlying mechanisms. Although W doping can effectively enhance the surface acidity, NH3 adsorption on Lewis acid sites can still be restrained by competitive adsorption of SO2, whereas SO42− modification can enhance the adsorption stability of NH3 without being affected by SO2. Simultaneously, the NO adsorption ability on Fe sites can be significantly enhanced by W/SO42− co-modification. Furthermore, the W doping or SO42− modification can induce conversion of Fe3+ to Fe2+ to affect the redox property of Fe species. A proper amount of Fe2+ suppressed the oxidizability of FT catalyst to inhibit NH3 overoxidation to enhance N2 selectivity, and created more oxygen vacancies to generate larger amount of chemisorbed oxygen to facilitate NH3 dehydrogenation and NO oxidation. More importantly, the inhibition effect of SO2 adsorption on Fe sites was strengthened by W/SO42− co-modification. Consequently, the W/SO42− co-modified FT catalyst exhibited high activity with >90 % of NO conversion and >95 % of N2 selectivity within a broad window of 275–450 °C and possessed superior SO2 + H2O tolerance at 275 °C.

Self-protected Chlorella@Mn catalyst with excellent resistance to alkali/alkaline earth metal for NOx reduction by NH3

In the selective catalytic reduction of NOx by NH3 (NH3-SCR), conventional Mn-based denitration catalysts often suffered from susceptibility to poisoning by alkali and alkaline earth metals, this paper presented an innovative self-protected Chlorella@Mn denitration catalyst. Remarkably, in the presence of high concentrations (2 wt%) of alkali and alkaline earth metal oxides, the Chlorella@Mn catalyst sustained a NOx conversion exceeding 96 % at 175 °C. At an even higher concentration (4 wt%), NOx conversion above 90 % at 175 °C, surface analysis revealed that POMn sites acted as sacrificial sites, binding to the alkali and alkaline earth metals, the Chlorella@Mn catalyst surface naturally carried a spectrum of acidic species (such as SO42−, PO3−, SiO32−), proficient in capturing alkali/alkaline earth metal effectively, elements such as S, P, and Si formed bonds with K, Na, Ca, and Mg. The synergistic protection of the active sites and the surface elements avoided the deactivation of the catalyst. The detrimental effects of high concentrations of alkali and alkaline earth metals were primarily due to promoting an excessively high valence state of Mn on the catalyst surface and the reduction or loss of NH3 adsorption and activation at Brønsted acid sites. This research provided valuable insights for advancing the development of low-temperature denitration catalysts with improved resistance to alkali and alkaline earth metal poisoning.

Promoting metal oxides–zeolite electron interaction on MnCeOx/HY catalyst for boosting nitrogen oxides reduction

The MnOx-CeO2 metal oxides are considered as promising alternative catalysts for selective catalytic reduction with NH3 (NH3-SCR) to remove NOx due to its excellent low temperature performance. However, their strong oxidative ability can lead to NH3 over-oxidation, narrowing the active temperature range and reducing N2 selectivity. Moreover, their weak surface acidity hampers medium to high-temperature activity and alkali metal resistance. Hence, in this study, MnCeOx metal oxides were coupled with HY zeolite to create MnCeOx/HY, demonstrating excellent NH3-SCR performance. The high dispersion of metal oxides on the zeolite surface and their close integration promoted strong electron interaction, effectively reducing oxygen vacancies and surface adsorbed oxygen concentrations. Consequently, the oxidative ability of active metal oxides was appropriately weakened, suppressing undesirable side reactions. MnCeOx/HY also notably suppressed NO adsorption and nitrate formation, promoting the catalytic reaction solely through the E-R mechanism and enhancing N2 selectivity. The abundant strong acid sites on the zeolite surface facilitates NH3 adsorption at moderate to high temperatures, notably expanding the active temperature window. Furthermore, the acid sites of HY zeolite serve as sacrificial sites, preferentially reacting with alkali metals, thus exhibiting excellent resistance to alkali metal poisoning on MnCeOx/HY. Combining with the DFT results, the structure-activity relationships in this study also reveal the importance of the effective synergy between acid sites and redox sites for optimal catalytic performance, offering valuable insights into the development of highly active and alkali-resistant denitrification catalysts.

Revealing the boosting roles of sulfate groups on NOx selective catalytic reduction over V2O5/CeO2 catalyst

Ceria-supported vanadia (VOx/CeO2) catalyst has been extensively investigated in the field of NOx selective catalytic reduction with NH3 (NH3-SCR) but is limited in practical application owing to its poor sulfur resistance and high-temperature activity. Herein, a series of SO42− modified V2O5/CeO2 catalysts were fabricated to improve the overall catalytic performance. The 2 %SO42−-V2O5/CeO2 catalyst exhibited above 95 % NOx conversion, 90 % N2 selectivity in the temperature range of 225–400 °C and excellent SO2 + H2O tolerance, which was much better than V2O5/CeO2 catalyst. Characterization results showed that the introduction of SO42− over V2O5/CeO2 increased the Ce3+/(Ce3++ Ce4+) ratio to promote the formation of oxygen vacancies and promoted the generation of more conducive polymeric vanadyl species. The synergistic effect of the redox sites and acid centers provided moderate redox property and enhanced surface acidity, thus improving the adsorption of NH3 and inhibiting the over-oxidation of NH3 that occurs on V2O5/CeO2. In-situ DRIFTS indicated that the NOx reduction over V2O5/CeO2 and 2 %SO42−-V2O5/CeO2 followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood and Eley-Rideal routes concurrently. This study can expound the reasonable design of vanadium-based catalysts for efficient NOx reduction in industry.

Insights into Na+/Ca2+ poisoning mechanisms of Zr-modified and unmodified La-Mn perovskite oxide catalysts for NH3-SCR reaction

The presence of alkali metal/alkaline earth metal in fuel gas is one of the important reasons for the deactivation of catalyst for selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR). In this work, the Na+/Ca2+ poisoning mechanisms of Zr-modified and unmodified La-Mn perovskite oxides for NH3-SCR reaction were studied. It is found that the deposition of Na+ into LaMnO3 (LM) catalyst has a much larger effect than that of Ca2+, while such a result is opposite for the Na+/Ca2+-deposited La0.8Zr0.2MnO3 (ZLM) catalysts. The deposition of Na+/Ca2+ compounds can block the pores and affect the adsorption and activation of NH3 on the catalysts. After Zr modification, the catalyst with a higher Mn4+ content shows a better redox property and increased acid sites. These acidic sites can trap Na+, thereby delaying the catalyst poisoning and causing a better activity of ZLM catalyst than LM catalyst. The deposition of Ca2+ in the form of CaCO3 on the catalyst surface leads to a serious pore blockage, showing a poor resistance to Ca2+. After regeneration, the pores of the catalyst are dredged, and the active sites originally occupied by Na+/Ca2+ are released, resulting in an recovery of catalyst activity. The recovery of adsorbed oxygen and Mn4+ content is the key factor for returning the SCR activity.

Significant enhanced SO2 resistance of Ce-doped OMS-2 catalyst by building the CeO2 shell for the low-temperature SCR of NO with NH3

Developing highly SO2-resistance catalysts for the NOx reduction at low temperatures is a significant challenge. In this study, we fabricate a catalyst of Ce-doped manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve by building the CeO2 shell (Ce-OMS-2@CeO2) to solve this problem. This catalyst showed high selective catalytic reduction with NH3 (NH3-SCR) activity and enhanced resistance to SO2-induced deactivation. Ce-OMS-2@CeO2 exhibited outstanding NH3-SCR activity and anti-sulfur performance at 200 °C. The mesoporous CeO2 shells exerted no influence on the transport of reactants to catalytic active sites. The NH3-SCR on Ce-OMS-2@CeO2 catalyst occurred via the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism with adsorption of NH3 and NO on different sites, thus preventing competing adsorption. The CeO2 shell bound SO2 strongly in priority, thus protecting the Ce-OMS-2 core from SO2 poisoning. Moreover, a dynamic balance was established between NH4HSO4 formation and decomposition over our Ce-OMS-2@CeO2 catalyst at low temperatures, which also hindered the SO2 poisoning in NH3-SCR reaction.

Mechanistic insights into NH3-assisted selective reduction of NO on CeO2: a first-principles microkinetic study on selectivity and activity.

To understand the activity- and selectivity-limiting factors of selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3 (NH3-SCR) catalyzed by CeO2-based oxides, a molecular-level mechanistic exploration was performed on CeO2(110) using a first-principles microkinetic study. Herein, the favored reaction pathway for N2 formation on CeO2(110) is unveiled, which includes three key subprocesses. (i) NH3 adsorbs on the Cecus site and dissociates into *NH2 assisted by Olat; (ii) *NH2 preferentially couples with NO adsorbed on Olat (ONO#), forming *NH2NO on the Cecus site; (iii) *NH2NO undergoes dehydrogenation into *NHNO, which can be easily anchored by Ovac and can then decompose into N2. The quantitative microkinetic results show that the transfer of NHNO from Cecus to Ovac, rather than the further conversion of N2O to N2 on Ovac, emerges as the N2 selectivity-determining step on CeO2, in which Ovac plays a key role. The number of Ovac is an important factor determining the N2 selectivity of CeO2-based catalysts. The sensitivity analysis reveals that NH2NO formation, i.e., *NH2 + ONO# → *NH2NO + O#, is the rate-determining step for NH3-SCR on the CeO2 catalyst; accordingly, enhancing NH3 adsorption could be an effective strategy to boost the catalytic activity of CeO2 for NH3-SCR. In general, creating Ovac on CeO2 and introducing components (e.g., WO3) with strong NH3 adsorption would be efficient for designing CeO2-based catalysts with superior N2 selectivity and activity. These results could provide a consolidated theoretical basis for understanding and optimizing CeO2-based catalysts for NH3-SCR.

New Insights into the Effect of Ce Doping on the Catalytic Performance and Hydrothermal Stability of Cu-USY Zeolite Catalysts for the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO with NH3

5Cu-USY and Ce-doped 5Cu8Ce-USY zeolite catalysts were prepared by the conventional impregnation method. The obtained catalysts were subjected to the hydrothermal ageing process. The catalytic performance of the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR) was evaluated on both fresh and aged catalysts. Physical/chemical characterizations such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were performed, along with detailed in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) experiments including CO adsorption, NH3 adsorption, and NO + O2 reactions. Results showed that, for the 5Cu-USY catalyst, hydrothermal ageing treatment could somehow improve the low-temperature SCR activity, but it also led to significant formation of unfavorable byproducts NO2 and N2O. Such an activity change can be attributed to hydrothermal ageing inducing the migration of isolated Cu+ species in the sodalite cavities towards the super cages of the USY zeolites. The increased content of Cu+ species in the super cages was beneficial for the low-temperature activity improvement, but, at the same time, it also facilitated ammonia oxidation at high temperatures. Ce doping after hydrothermal ageing has a “double-edged sword” effect on the catalytic performance. First of all, Ce doping can inhibit Cu species migration by self-occupying the internal cage sites; thus, the catalytic performance of 5Cu8Ce-USY-700H remains stable after ageing. Secondly, Ce doping introduces a CuOx–CeO2 strong interaction, which facilitates lattice oxygen mobility by forming more oxygen vacancies so as to increase the concentration of surface active oxygen. These changes, on the one hand, could help to promote further oxidative decomposition of nitrate/nitrite intermediates and improve the catalytic performance. But, on the other hand, it also causes the byproduct generation to become more severe.

Enhancement of Fe-Nb interaction by acid modification over SO42--FeOx-Nb2O5 catalyst for NH3 selective catalytic reduction of NOx

A series of iron-based composite oxide catalysts, modified with acid and niobium, were produced for the purpose of selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR) via co-precipitation. The obtained SO42--FeOx-Nb2O5 (S-FeNbOx) catalyst exhibited significantly better SCR performance than the unmodified FeOx catalyst, with a NOx conversion above 90% and N2 selectivity higher than 95% in the temperature range of 275–450 °C. The characterization results suggest that the addition of Nb not only modifies the electronic structure and alleviates the reducibility but also enhances the surface acidity of the catalysts. The sulfuric acid modification of FeOx-Nb2O5 catalyst promotes the formation of redox-acid sites. The in situ Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform spectroscopy (DRIFTs) results revealed that the combining sulfuric acid and niobium modifications resulted in a significant increase in the amount of Brønsted acid sites, and also led to a blue shift of the band related to the Lewis acid sites, implying the existence of a synergistic effect of the two modification methods. The creation of redox-acid sites significantly enhances the adsorption and activation capacity of NH3 on the catalyst surface. These results suggest that the NH3-SCR reaction to primarily follow the Eley-Rideal (E-R) mechanism on the catalyst.

Getting insight into the CO tolerance over Co-modified MnSm/Ti catalyst for NH3-SCR of NOx at low temperature: Experiments and DFT studies

The existence of carbon monoxide (CO) in industrial boilers flue gas can suppress the performance of the selective catalytic reduction with NH3 (NH3-SCR) for NOx removal at low temperatures over the Mn-based catalyst, and the related mechanism is needed to be revealed for improving the NH3-SCR performance. In this work, the effects of CO on the NH3-SCR performance over MnSm/Ti catalyst were studied, and the CO tolerance of the catalyst with cobalt (Co) modification at low temperatures was evaluated. The DFT calculations were performed to reveal the mechanism for the modification of Co over the MnSm/Ti catalyst. The NOx conversion for MnSm/Ti catalyst decreased by 15.2%-21.4% at 150–300 ℃ due to the presence of CO in the NH3-SCR reaction atmosphere. After introducing Co into MnSm/Ti catalyst, the NOx conversion for MnSmCo/Ti catalyst only decreased by 8.9%-13.8% at 150–300 ℃ with the presence of CO. It was evidenced that the CO tolerance of the MnSm/Ti catalyst was enhanced with the Co modification. The characterizations of catalysts revealed that the adsorptions of NH3 and NO over the MnSm/Ti catalyst were inhibited by the presence of CO in the mixed atmosphere. Furthermore, the presence of CO in the flue gas resulted in the formation of carbonates, bicarbonates, and bridging formate on the surface of the MnSm/Ti catalysts, which would cause a decrease in the content of Mn4+ and Oα on the surface of the catalyst surface. Introducing Co into MnSm/Ti catalyst could enhance the adsorption of NH3 by forming more Lewis acid sites over the MnSmCo/Ti catalyst. The contents of Mn4+ and Oα over MnSmCo/Ti catalyst were increased via the strong electronic interaction between Co ions and Mn ions. DFT calculations proved that the adsorption of CO over the catalyst was suppressed by the modification of Co with the change of the adsorption energy of CO from −167.25 kJ/mol to −53.82 kJ/mol. Additionally, the Co modification facilitated the decomposition of the carbonate formed over the catalyst with the energy barrier of related reactions decreasing from 214.67 kJ/mol to 24.45 kJ/mol, thus improving the CO tolerance of the catalyst.

Promoting effect of Si on MnOx catalysts for low-temperature NH3-SCR of NO: Enhanced N2 selectivity and SO2 resistance

Manganese-based catalysts have excellent catalytic performance for the effective removal of NOx in low-temperature flue gas through selective catalytic reduction with NH3 (NH3-SCR). However, the catalysts suffer from poor SO2 resistance and N2 selectivity in the actual process, which still need to be solved. In this study, MnOx-SiO2 mixed oxide catalysts were designed and prepared by coprecipitation method to improve the SO2 resistance and N2 selectivity in NH3-SCR process. In the presence of 100 ppm SO2, MnOx-SiO2(0.72) catalyst showed excellent sulfur resistance with the conversion of NOx reached 95 % even after introducing SO2 for 8 h. The doping of SiO2 greatly improved the specific surface area and surface acidity of the catalyst, which was conducive to the adsorption of NH3. Meanwhile, the redox performance of the catalyst was decreased, improving the N2 selectivity. The study on the sulfur resistance mechanism revealed that the doping of SiO2 reduced the adsorption of SO2 on the surface of catalyst, protecting the active components and avoiding the accumulation of sulfates, thus achieving good sulfur resistance performance. This work provided an environmentally friendly NH3-SCR catalyst by inhibiting SO2 adsorption to have good catalytic performance and SO2 resistance.

V2O5 supported on NbTiOx: A novel NH3-SCR catalyst with high performance induced by V-Nb-Ti interaction

The traditional vanadia-based catalysts frequently employed for selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR) have been criticized for their restricted operating temperature window and subpar low-temperature activity. In the present work, a series of NbTiOx solid solutions were used as supports to prepare V/NbxTi1-x (1.0 wt% V2O5) catalysts. The novel 1V/Nb0.15Ti0.85 catalyst presented superior catalytic performance and excellent resistance to SO2 in the SCR reaction, reaching above 95% NOx conversion in a wide temperature range from 270 to 485 °C. In comparison to pure TiO2, Nb-Ti-O solid solution support exhibited different pore structures and pore sizes, contributing to much larger specific surface area. Meanwhile, the surface Nb-OH and Nb = O bonds could serve as new acid sites to facilitate more NH3 adsorption. More importantly, there was a strong redox-acid interaction (V-Nb-Ti) for 1V/Nb0.15Ti0.85 catalyst, which induced the formation of highly redox-active V sites and promoted the activation of adsorbed ammonia, facilitating the NH3-SCR reaction. Unlike 1V/Ti, NOx species adsorbed on 1V/Nb0.15Ti0.85 participated in NH3-SCR reaction below 250 °C, further promoting the low-temperature activity. This study provides a novel vanadium-based catalyst with a low vanadium loading and high SCR activity for practical NOx abatement.

Promoting the catalytic activity and SO2 resistance of CeO2 by Ti-doping for low-temperature NH3-SCR: Increasing surface activity and constructing Ce3+ sites

CeO2-based oxides are promising catalysts for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR), but the poor SO2 poisoning resistance hampers its further application. Herein, we developed a Ti-doped CeO2 (Ti-CeO2) catalyst with high specific surface area by calcining TiSO4-doped Ce-MOF precursor for NO removal. On Ti-CeO2, abundant Ti3+ sites are generated by the thermally reducing carbon in the organic ligand during calcination, the electronic interaction between Ti3+ and Ce4+ leads to the generation of many more exposed Ce3+ sites, effectively preventing the sulphuration of surface Ce species to Ce2(SO4)3. Besides, the residual sulfate species provides plentiful Brønsted acid sites for NH3 adsorption. Therefore, both the catalytic performance and SO2 resistance of CeO2 are significantly enhanced after Ti-doping. Remarkably, above 80% NO conversion is obtained between 220 and 450 °C on Ti0.10-CeO2 (the molar ratio of Ti:Ce is 0.10 in the synthesis process), and the NO conversion maintains around 76.0% for 170 h in the presence of 100 ppm SO2 and 5 vol% H2O at 250 °C. The reaction on CeO2 and Ti-CeO2 follow the Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism, but abundant Ce4+ in CeO2 having high oxidation ability leads to the generation of plentiful stable nitrate or nitrite to occupy the active sites. In contrast, the over oxidation of NO and SO2 adsorption are inhibited because of Ti-doping, resulting in superior catalytic performance in the SCR reaction.

Insight into the low-temperature DeNOx performance of copper-based oxides: Perspective from the valence state distribution

Understanding the effect of CuOx valence state specifically is significant for constructing high-performance Cu based oxide catalyst for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3 (NH3-SCR). In this work, CuOx with different valence state including Cu2O, Cu2O-CuO and CuO particles are synthetized as model catalysts, which present same variation laws in catalytic performance at 180 ℃, 210 ℃ and 240 ℃. NH3-SCR catalytic performance of Cu2O-CuO heterojunction is the best, CuO exhibits good catalytic activity, while Cu2O possesses excellent N2 selectivity. Experimental results combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that Cu2+ favor to form monodentate nitrate and possess strong ability of activation and dehydrogenation of NH3. The energy barrier for the form of NH2* is 79.5 kJ/mol, which is much lower than that for Cu+. While Cu+ is beneficial to NH3 and NOx adsorption and the form of bidentate nitrate, which have a positive impact on improving the selectivity of N2. Moreover, the collaboration of Cu2+ and Cu+ facilitates the redox capability and the form of surface adsorbed oxygen species, thus the reaction progress is further promoted. The SCR reaction catalyzed by three samples are dominated mainly by Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism at 180 ℃. While at 240 ℃, the reaction over Cu2O follows Eley-Rideal (E-R) mechanism, during which the rate-limiting step is the internal hydrogen transfer procedure (NH2NO*→NHNOH*). Over CuO, the reaction follows L-H mechanism, the process of atomic isomerism (NHNOH*+ *→N2*+H2O*) is the rate-determining step. The energy barriers are 136 and 146 kJ/mol, respectively. This work may supply important theoretical support for the preparation of high-performance Cu-based oxide catalysts.

Design of Ca-type todorokite catalysts with highly active for the selective reduction of NOx by NH3 at low temperatures

Ca-type todorokite catalysts were designed and prepared by a simple redox method and applied to the selective reduction of NOx by NH3 (NH3-SCR) for the first time. Compared with the Na-type manjiroite prepared by the same method, the todorokite catalysts with different Mn/Ca ratios showed greatly improved catalytic activity for NOx reduction. Among them, Mn8Ca4 catalyst exhibited the best NH3-SCR performance, achieving 90% NOx conversion within temperature range of 70–275°C and having a high sulphur resistance. Compared to the Na-type manjiroite sample, Ca-type todorokite catalysts possessed an increased size of tunnel, resulting in a larger specific surface area. As increased the amounts of Ca doping, the Na content in Ca-type todorokite catalysts significantly decreased, providing larger amounts of Brønsted acid sites for NH3 adsorption to produce NH4+. The NH4+ species were highly active for reaction with NO + O2, playing a determining role in NH3-SCR process at low temperatures. Meanwhile, larger amounts of surface adsorbed oxygen contained over the Ca-doping samples than that over Na-type manjiroite, promoting the oxidation of NO and fast SCR processes. Over the Ca-type todorokite catalysts, furthermore, nitrates produced during the flow of NO + O2, were more active for reaction with NH3 than that over Na-type manjiroite, benefiting the occurrence of NH3-SCR process. This study provides novel insights into the design of NH3-SCR catalysts with high performance.

Revealing the Excellent Low-Temperature Activity of the Fe1–xCexOδ-S Catalyst for NH3-SCR: Improvement of the Lattice Oxygen Mobility

The development of selective catalytic reduction catalysts by NH3(NH3-SCR) with excellent low-temperature activity and a wide temperature window is highly demanded but is still very challenging for the elimination of NOx emission from vehicle exhaust. Herein, a series of sulfated modified iron-cerium composite oxide Fe1-xCexOδ-S catalysts were synthesized. Among them, the Fe0.79Ce0.21Oδ-S catalyst achieved the highest NOx conversion of more than 80% at temperatures of 175-375 °C under a gas hourly space velocity of 100000 h-1. Sulfation formed a large amount of sulfate on the surface of the catalyst and provided rich Brønsted acid sites, thus enhancing its NH3 adsorption capacity and improving the overall NOx conversion efficiency. The introduction of Ce is the main determining factor in regulating the low-temperature activity of the catalyst by modulating its redox ability. Further investigation found that there is a strong interaction between Fe and Ce, which changed the electron density around the Fe ions in the Fe0.79Ce0.21Oδ-S catalyst. This weakened the strength of the Fe-O bond and improved the lattice oxygen mobility of the catalyst. During the reaction, the iron-cerium composite oxide catalyst showed higher surface lattice oxygen activity and a faster replenishment rate of bulk lattice oxygen. This significantly improved the adsorption and activation of NOx species and the activation of NH3 species on the catalyst surface, thus leading to the superior low-temperature activity of the catalyst.

Extraordinary Detoxification Effect of Arsenic on the Cadmium-Poisoned V2O5/TiO2 Catalyst for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx by NH3

Arsenic has been found as a serious toxicant for the catalysts in the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR). However, the detoxification effect of arsenic on the cadmium-poisoned V2O5/TiO2 catalyst was found in this work. With an arsenic loading of 1.8 wt %, the NOx conversion over cadmium-poisoned V2O5/TiO2 increased from 45.1 to 88.3% at 350 °C under a GHSV of 300,000 h–1. Meantime, the adverse effect on N2 selectivity caused by arsenic was reduced. The catalyst characterization manifests that the surface VOx-active sites were liberated from the restriction of cadmium due to the interaction between cadmium and arsenic. More importantly, it was found that the SCR performance of the catalysts was highly dependent on the surface VOx sites. In situ experiments proved that the released surface VOx species could not only provide the Lewis sites for the NH3 adsorption but also dominate the redox cycle (V5+ ↔ V4+) during the NH3-SCR process. We believe that this study can inspire directions for the design of NH3-SCR catalysts with superior resistance to different poisons.

Cation exchange reaction drives CeMn-montmorillonite catalyst with high dispersion and abundant acidic sites for low-temperature NH3-SCR

The development of a cost-effective and eco-friendly catalyst with superior activity for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NOX with NH3 (NH3-SCR) is an urgent issue. In this work, a series of CeMn- supported montmorillonite (MMT) were synthesized via a cation exchange reaction. The effects of the valence state of the Mn precursor, acid or base pretreatment of MMT, and the molar ratio of Ce/Mn on zCeMn(x)-MMT(y) were examined. The XRD results revealed that the layer spacing of MMT increased due to Mn3+ of acetate manganese showing the highest cation exchange efficiency. Therefore, Mn(C)-MMT has stronger electronegative and abundant acidic sites, which facilitates the adsorption of NH3. In addition, the dispersion and uniformity of Mn(C)-MMT(12) were improved under the base pretreatment with pH = 12, as confirmed by TEM. To further improve the redox ability, the coexistence of CeO2 favors the production of Mn4+, Ce3+, and adsorbed oxygen species, as confirmed by XPS analysis, thereby facilitating NO oxidation and improving NOX conversion by fast-SCR. Accordingly, 2CeMn(C)-MMT(12) with high dispersion and acidity and abundant Mn species exhibited a NOX conversion of 41% at 100 °C and 85% at 250 °C, invoking an applicable and efficient performance for low-temperature SCR.

Efficient NOx Reduction against Alkali Poisoning over a Self-Protection Armor by Fabricating Surface Ce2(SO4)3 Species: Comparison to Commercial Vanadia Catalysts.

Resolving severe deactivation by alkali metals for selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR) is challenging. Herein, surface Ce2(SO4)3 species as a self-protection armor originally exhibited antipoisoning of potassium over ceria-based catalysts. The self-protection armor was also effective for other alkali (Na), alkali-earth (Ca), and heavy (Pb) metals, considerably resolving the deactivation of ceria-based SCR catalysts in practical applications. The catalytic activity tests indicated that the presence of ∼0.8 wt % potassium did not deactivate sulfated CeO2 catalysts, yet commercial V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts almost lost the NOx conversions. Potassium preferably bonded with surface sulfates to form K2SO4 accompanied with the majority of surface Ce2(SO4)3 over sulfated CeO2 catalysts, but preferably coupled with active vanadia to generate inactive KVO3 species over V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts. Such an active Ce2(SO4)3 species facilitated the adsorption and reactivity of NH3 and NOx, enabling ceria catalysts to maintain high catalytic efficiency in the presence of potassium. Conversely, the introduction of potassium into V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts caused a considerable loss of surface acidity, hindering catalyst reactivity during the SCR reaction. The self-protection armor of Ce2(SO4)3 species may open a promising pathway to develop efficient ceria-based SCR catalysts with strong antipoisoning ability.

Promoting catalytic performance by balancing acid and redox sites on Mn3O4–Mn2P2O7/TiO2 for selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3 at low temperature

The surface acidity and redox property of catalyst are extremely important in the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR) process. In this work, phosphoric acid was used to regulate the acidity and redox property of Mn3O4/TiO2 and Mn3O4–Mn2P2O7/TiO2 (MnPO/TiO2) catalyst was firstly prepared. And its effect on the catalytic activity was investigated in NH3-SCR. The experimental results showed that Mn2P2O7 modified Mn3O4/TiO2 catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity and strong resistance to SO2 and H2O than Mn3O4/TiO2. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) results showed that the formation of Mn2P2O7 was beneficial to optimize pore structure and significantly increased the specific surface area of Mn3O4/TiO2 catalyst. At the same time, the generation of Mn2P2O7 led to partial obstruction of Mn3+/Mn4+ with Mn2+ redox cycles, which weakened the redox property of Mn3O4/TiO2 catalyst and then prevented excessive dehydrogenation of NH3. Furthermore, the introduction of Mn2P2O7 provided more acid sites for Mn3O4/TiO2 catalyst. The moderate redox property and enhanced acidity facilitated adsorption and activation of NO and NH3. In situ DRIFTs results showed that the SCR reaction over MnPO/TiO2 catalyst at 200 °C was predominantly controlled by L-H route.