Enhanced activity and water tolerance promoted by Ce on MnO/ZSM-5 for ozone decomposition

Catalytic decomposition is a promising way to eliminate ozone using manganese oxides. However, water-induced deactivation of the catalysts remains a challenge for further application. In this work, a series of Ce-promoted MnO supported on ZSM-5 (Mn-xCe/ZSM-5) were developed for ozone decomposition, which exhibited superior catalytic performance. The catalysts were characterized by multiple techniques. It is indicated that MnO was highly dispersed on ZSM-5 (Mn/ZSM-5), accounting for the high performance of ozone decomposition. Addition of Ce in Mn/ZSM-5 formed abundant redox pairs that promoted electron transfer, and thus exhibited superior ozone decomposition activity. Mn-3Ce/ZSM-5 with medium Ce loading showed the maximum activity by exposing the most active sites. Furthermore, Mn-3Ce/ZSM-5 was highly water-resistant in comparison with Mn/ZSM-5 by modulating the surface acidic property to be beneficial for the water desorption. This work provides an efficient and facile way to fabricate Ce-promoted Mn with low valence for effective and stable decomposition of ozone at room temperature.