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In the present study CeO2, MnO2 and CeMnOx mixed oxide (with molar ratio Ce/Mn = 1) were prepared by sol-gel method using citric acid as a chelating agent and calcined at 500 °C. The silver catalysts (1 wt% Ag) over the obtained supports were synthesized by the incipient wetness impregnation method with [Ag(NH3)2]NO3 aqueous solution. The selective catalytic reduction of NO by C3H6 was investigated in a fixed-bed quartz reactor using a reaction mixture composed of 1000 ppm NO, 3600 ppm C3H6, 10 vol.% O2, 2.9 vol.% H2 and He as a balance gas, at WHSV of 25,000 mL g−1 h−1.The physical-chemical properties of the as-prepared catalysts were studied by several characterization techniques, such as X-ray fluorescence analysis, nitrogen adsorption/desorption, X-ray analysis, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy with analysis of the surface composition by X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy. Silver oxidation state and its distribution on the catalysts surface as well as the support microstructure are the main factors determining the low temperature activity in NO selective catalytic reduction. The most active Ag/CeMnOx catalyst (NO conversion at 300 °C is 44% and N2 selectivity is ~ 90%) is characterized by the presence of the fluorite-type phase with high dispersion and distortion. The characteristic “patchwork” domain microstructure of the mixed oxide along with the presence of dispersed Ag+/Agnδ+ species improve the low-temperature catalyst of NO reduction by C3H6 performance compared to Ag/CeO2 and Ag/MnOx systems.

Mn-WO3/TiO2 catalysts were investigated for Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) of NO with NH3. The catalysts were synthesized by wetness impregnation method with different Mn loadings (1.5-3-12 wt%) on 8wt%WO3/TiO2. All three catalysts were compared with 8wt%WO3/TiO2 and bare MnOx oxide, used as references. The 1.5wt%Mn-8wt%WO3/TiO2 exhibited the highest performance in NO conversion and N2 selectivity. A commercial catalyst, based on titania supported vanadia and tungsta, (V2O5-WO3/TiO2), widely used for its high efficiency, was also investigated in the present work. The morphological, structural, redox and electronic properties of the catalysts and their thermal stability were studied by several techniques (N2 adsorption/desorption, X-ray diffraction, H2 temperature-programmed reduction, NH3 temperature programmed desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy).The aim of this paper is to study the effect of different Mn loadings on 8wt%WO3/TiO2 with the ambition to obtain highly active and selective catalysts in a large window of temperature. The replacement of toxic vanadium used in the classic V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalyst with MnOx in the best performing catalyst, 1.5wt%Mn-8wt%WO3/TiO2, represents an important achievement to improve the environmental sustainability.

The reaction of octakis(3-chloropropyl)octasilsesquioxane with four equivalents of 1-hexylimidazole or 1-decylimidazole gave two products labelled as HQ-POSS (hexyl-imidazolium quaternized POSS) and DQ-POSS (decyl-imidazolium quaternized POSS) as regioisomer mixtures. An investigation of the biological activity of these two compounds revealed the higher antimicrobial performances of HQ-POSS against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms, proving its broad-spectrum activity. Due to its very viscous nature, HQ-POSS was adsorbed in variable amounts on the surface of biologically active oxides to gain advantages regarding the expendability of such formulations from an applicative perspective. Titania and 5 wt% Cu on titania were used as supports. The materials 10HQ-POSS/Ti and 15HQ-POSS/5CuTi strongly inhibited the ability of Pseudomonas PS27 cells—a bacterial strain described for its ability to handle very toxic organic solvents and perfluorinated compounds—to grow as planktonic cells. Moreover, the best formulations (i.e., 10HQ-POSS/Ti and 15HQ-POSS/5CuTi) could prevent Pseudomonas PS27 biofilm formation at a certain concentration (250 μg mL−1) which greatly impaired bacterial planktonic growth. Specifically, 15HQ-POSS/5CuTi completely impaired cell adhesion, thus successfully prejudicing biofilm formation and proving its suitability as a potential antifouling agent. Considering that most studies deal with quaternary ammonium salts (QASs) with long alkyl chains (>10 carbon atoms), the results reported here on hexylimidazolium-based POSS further deepen the knowledge of QAS formulations which can be used as antifouling compounds.