Less Is More: Selective-Atom-Removal-Derived Defective MnO_x Catalyst for Efficient Propane Oxidation

Defect manipulation in metal oxide is of great importance in boosting catalytic performance for propane oxidation. Herein, a selective atom removal strategy was developed to construct a defective manganese oxide catalyst, which involved the partial etching of a Mg dopant in MnO_x. The resulting MgMnO_x-H catalysts exhibited superior low-temperature catalytic activity (T₅₀ = 185 °C, T₉₀ = 226 °C) with a propane conversion rate of 0.29 μmol·g^-1·h^-1 for the propane oxidation reaction, which is 4.8 times that of pristine MnO_x. Meanwhile, a robust hydrothermal stability was guaranteed at 250 °C for 30 h of reaction time. The comprehensive experimental characterizations revealed that the catalytic performance improvement was closely related to the defective structures including the abundant (metal and oxygen) vacancies, distorted crystals, valence imbalance, etc., which prominently weakened the Mn-O bond and stimulated the mobility of surface lattice oxygen, leading to the elevation in the intrinsic oxidation activity. This work exemplifies the significance of defect engineering for the promotion of the oxidation ability of metal oxide, which will be valuable for the further development of efficient non-noble metal catalysts for propane oxidation.