http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926860X12000725

 

Applied Catalysis A: General

Volumes 421–422, 16 April 2012, Pages 154–160

Catalytic oxidation of ethylene at low temperatures using porous copper manganese oxides

• Eric C. Njagi,
• Homer C. Genuino,
• Cecil K. King’ondu,
• Saminda Dharmarathna,
• Steven L. Suib^,

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doi:10.1016/j.apcata.2012.02.011

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Abstract

Amorphous manganese oxide and binary copper manganese oxides were synthesized using the redox method, characterized, and tested in the catalytic oxidation of ethylene. The catalytic activity of the synthesized catalysts toward ethylene oxidation was high (100% conversion of 1.0% C₂H₄ at 200 °C with space velocity of $\mathrm{35,000}{\text{\hspace{0.17em}mL\hspace{0.17em}h}}^{-1}{\text{g}}_{\text{cat}}^{-1})$ and compared favorably with that of a commercial Hopcalite catalyst. The high catalytic activity was attributed a combination of factors including the poor crystallinity, the high surface areas (≥163 m² g⁻¹), porosity, presence of Mn⁴⁺ species, and compositional homogeneity of the synthesized copper manganese oxides. Incorporation of copper into the amorphous manganese oxide matrix significantly enhanced the catalytic activity of the resultant bimetallic oxides by increasing the reducibility and ease of removal of lattice oxygen species. The synthesized materials were characterized using FE-SEM, HR-TEM, BET, FAAS, XPS, and TPD methods.

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Graphical abstract

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Highlights

► Copper manganese oxides are highly active catalysts for ethylene oxidation. ► High activity attributed to amounts of Mn⁴⁺ species, and compositional homogeneity. ► Incorporation of copper enhances the activity of resultant bimetallic oxides.

Keywords

• Catalytic oxidation;
• Copper manganese oxide;
• Ethylene;
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)