Combustion of volatile organic compounds over Cu-Mn based mixed oxide type catalysts supported on mesoporous Al 2O 3, TiO 2 and ZrO 2

Abstract

A series of supported Cu-Mn based catalysts have been synthesized using three different supports mesoporous Al 2O 3, mesoporous TiO 2 and mesoporous ZrO 2. Cu-Mn precursors were incorporated on mesoporous supports using wet impregnation method. These catalyst supports were prepared by templating method using a natural biopolymer namely, chitosan. The catalytic activity for benzene and acetaldehyde combustion was studied for these catalysts. The synthesized catalysts have been characterized by XRD, BET-SA, O 2-TPD and H 2-TPR in a view of material characterization, as well as to investigate the mechanistic aspects of catalytic reactions. The bimetallic supported catalysts follow the activity sequence - Cu-Mn/TiO 2 > Cu-Mn/ZrO 2 > Cu-Mn/Al 2O 3 for both the reactions studied. These results interestingly show, that the catalytic activity is dependent on the support used, however, quite independent of the surface area of these supports. The better activity of TiO 2 and ZrO 2 based catalysts is likely due to their redox properties. The existence of low temperature peaks in both O 2-TPD and H 2-TPR explain better redox properties as well as catalytic performance of TiO 2 and ZrO 2 supported catalysts as compared to those Al 2O 3 supported mixed oxides. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.