Issue 5, 2023

Regeneration of atomic Ag sites over commercial γ-aluminas by oxidative dispersion of Ag metal particles

Abstract

Ag(3 wt%)-loaded γ-Al2O3 (Ag/Al2O3) catalysts were prepared using four types of commercially available alumina powders (CTB, PUR, VGL, and CFF). Based on the support, the activity of these catalysts for the H2-assisted selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by NH3 or C3H6 decreased in the order CTB > PUR > VGL > CFF. After sintering treatment (H2 reduction at 800 °C), the particle size of the Ag metal nanoparticles (NPs) changed and was found to be correlated with the catalytic activity (CTB < PUR < VGL < CFF). After re-oxidation of H2-reduced Ag/Al2O3 at 500 °C, the in situ infrared (IR) spectra showed negative bands at 3762 cm−1 due to the HO-μ1-AlVI site, where the band intensity increased in the order CTB > PUR > VGL > CFF. IR study of pyridine adsorbed on Ag-free γ-Al2O3 showed that the number of strong Lewis acid sites (unsaturated AlIV3+) increased in the same order, CTB > PUR > VGL > CFF, and the number of strong Lewis acid sites decreased when Ag was loaded on the supports. In situ X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and UV-vis studies of Ag/Al2O3 sintered under NO + O2 at 400 °C showed oxidative redispersion of the Ag metal NPs to regenerate atomic Ag(I) sites. The amount of redispersed Ag metal and the initial rates of redispersion estimated from the in situ UV-vis results changed in the following order: CTB > PUR > VGL > CFF. These results suggest that the HO-μ1-AlVI site adjacent to the unsaturated AlIV3+ site on γ-Al2O3 is the anchoring site of the atomic Ag species, and the sintering resistance of Ag/Al2O3 increases with the number of HO-μ1-AlVI sites. During H2-assisted SCR, where both H2 and NO + O2 were co-fed to the catalysts, the number of highly dispersed Ag species (active sites) increased with the number of HO-μ1-AlVI sites; hence, NO conversion increased with the number of HO-μ1-AlVI sites on the support. The present results provide molecular-level insights into the design of sintering-resistant Ag/Al2O3 catalysts for SCR.

Graphical abstract: Regeneration of atomic Ag sites over commercial γ-aluminas by oxidative dispersion of Ag metal particles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Nov 2022
Accepted
17 Jan 2023
First published
17 Jan 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2023,13, 1459-1469

Regeneration of atomic Ag sites over commercial γ-aluminas by oxidative dispersion of Ag metal particles

H. Kubota, S. Mine, T. Toyao and K. Shimizu, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2023, 13, 1459 DOI: 10.1039/D2CY01950G

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