Issue 10, 2024

Engineering the grain boundary and surface sites of binary Cu–Mn catalysts to boost CO oxidation

Abstract

The catalytic oxidation of CO over Cu-based catalysts has garnered significant interest due to their promising potential in addressing environmental pollution and enhancing industrial processes. Herein, we report a dual-stimuli strategy to boost the catalytic performance of CO oxidation via synergistically harnessing active Cu+ species with oxygen vacancies by engineering the grain boundary of Cu–Mn catalysts. Nanorod-like MnO2 with a tunnel structure was prepared by a hydrothermal method and employed as the catalyst support, where different amounts of Cu were further introduced via impregnation to obtain Cu/MnO2 catalysts. It is found that apart from the highly dispersed Cu species within the MnO2 lattice to create lattice mismatch and distortion, some Cu are present as oxidized nanoparticles over the MnO2 surface, thus sparking off increased dislocations and grain boundaries. A combination of characterization methods demonstrates that the proportion of active Cu+ species decreases with increasing amount of Cu, presenting an inverse relationship to the abundance of oxygen vacancies over the catalyst surface. Correspondingly, both Cu+ species and oxygen vacancies are identified as the main active sites for the adsorption and activation of CO and O2, respectively. Therefore, a trade-off between the percentage of active Cu+ species and oxygen vacancies for the 15% Cu/MnO2 catalyst with a moderate Cu introduction contributes to its highest catalytic activity, with T50 and T90 reaching 66 °C and 89 °C, respectively. This investigation highlights the potential of synergistically harnessing active Cu+ species with oxygen vacancies via grain boundary engineering for enhanced catalytic performance in CO oxidation applications.

Graphical abstract: Engineering the grain boundary and surface sites of binary Cu–Mn catalysts to boost CO oxidation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Apr 2024
Accepted
12 Jul 2024
First published
22 Jul 2024

React. Chem. Eng., 2024,9, 2659-2668

Engineering the grain boundary and surface sites of binary Cu–Mn catalysts to boost CO oxidation

X. Zhang, X. Chao, N. Fei, W. Chen, G. Qian, J. Zhang, D. Chen, X. Duan, X. Zhou and W. Yuan, React. Chem. Eng., 2024, 9, 2659 DOI: 10.1039/D4RE00222A

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