Copper Supported on Mesoporous Structured Catalysts for NO Reduction

Abstract

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are one of the pollutants of greatest concern in terms of atmospheric contamination and, consequently, human health. The main objective of this work, is the synthesis of structured carbon catalysts, introducing on their surface metals and nitrogen groups, catalytically active in NO reduction. Structured catalysts represent an attractive alternative to powder catalysts because they have better thermal stability and lower pressure drop. The catalysts were synthesized by coating a melamine foam using precursor solutions of carbon xerogels with and without nitrogen (using melamine and urea as precursors), and impregnated with transition metals (Fe, Ni and Cu). The introduction of nitrogen and metals modified the textural properties of the materials. Samples synthesized with melamine presented the highest amount of nitrogen, while the highest content of copper, found to be the most active transition metal for NO reduction, was found in structured catalysts impregnated with urea. The presence of transition metals in catalysts is essential for the reduction of NO to N2 and the introduction of nitrogenous precursors makes this evident. The synthesis and application of carbon-supported structured catalysts containing transition metals for NO reduction is demonstrated in this work for the first time, as well as the study of the factors influencing their performance.

Towards High CO2 Conversions Using Cu/Zn Catalysts Supported on Aluminum Fumarate Metal-Organic Framework for Methanol Synthesis

“…In addition, the Zn content was 3.12 and 5.77 wt% in the Cu/ZnO/AlFum MOF and 7Cu/3ZnO/AlFum MOF catalysts, respectively. This discrepancy may be attributed to high Cu dispersion in the framework of the AlFum MOF support with regions of surface enrichment, potentially leading to higher Cu content albeit it must be noted that SEM-EDX is a semi-quantitative technique and other techniques such as inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy may provide more accurate, quantitative, elemental analysis results [28,29].…”

“…EDX is a semi-quantitative technique and other techniques such as inductively coup plasma optical emission spectroscopy may provide more accurate, quantitative, elemen analysis results [28,29].…”