Lattice-Refined Transition-Metal Oxides via Ball Milling for Boosted Catalytic Oxidation Performance

Surface oxygen vacancy can greatly affect the properties of transition-metal oxides. However, engineering oxygen vacancy-abundant transition-metal oxides with high specific surface area (SSA) remains challenging. At present, the generation of oxygen vacancies in metal oxides is time-consuming and less environmentally friendly by chemical leaching methods that usually require additional waste treatment. Herein, a series of oxygen vacancy-abundant transition-metal oxides with high SSA are constructed via a lattice refining strategy. This strategy is realized by urea-assisted ball milling pyrolysis and is green, efficient, and universal. The oxygen vacancies promote the mobility of oxygen, leading to a boosted catalytic oxidation performance of aromatic sulfides. Such a strategy provides an efficient approach to manufacturing oxygen vacancies on transition-metal oxides, which may be beneficial for various related applications as an effective catalytic material.