Surface Modification by Amino Group Inducing for Highly Efficient Catalytic Oxidation of Toluene over a Pd/KIT-6...

Toluene is one of the typical volatile organic compounds in industry, particularly in energy and fuels production processes, which is required to be eliminated effectively to protect the environment. Catalytic oxidation of toluene is widely studied for its high efficiency, and rational design and synthesis of metal catalysts are keys for toluene oxidation. In this study, an efficient catalyst was designed and synthesized by introducing -NH₂ groups on the ordered mesoporous silica (KIT-6) surface to anchor and disperse Pd species, leading to Pd nanoparticles being highly dispersed with uniform particle size distribution. Meanwhile, it was found that the introduction of -NH₂ made Pd centers present an electron-rich state, and the active Pd centers could activate O₂ molecules to generate more reactive oxygen species and promote the conversion of toluene, which was verified by in situ XPS and O₂-TPD characterization. Compared with the catalysts prepared by an impregnation method, the catalytic performance of the Pd/NH₂-KIT-6 (0.5 wt %) catalyst was significantly improved. A conversion of 90% for toluene (2400 ppm, 24,000 mL·g^-1·h^-1) was achieved at 171 °C, and the toluene conversion was maintained above 90% for 900 min, displaying the excellent activity and stability of the Pd/NH₂-KIT-6 catalyst.