Formaldehyde (H2CO) is a toxic indoor pollutant, apart from being a key intermediate in methanol decomposition, CO hydrogenation and CO2 reduction. A potential solution to the abatement of H2CO is via catalytic oxidation to CO2. Manganese Oxide catalysts are promising candidates for thermal catalytic oxidation at low temperatures. Along with the challenge of surface poisoning at room temperature, there is a lack of agreement of the reaction mechanism and the activity descriptors for different crystal structures of MnOx. In this work, formaldehyde adsorption and oxidation on MnOx surfaces was studied using a combined experimental and theoretical framework with the help of a plug flow reactor, in-situ Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and Density Functional Theory (DFT). The critical role of water and adsorbed oxygen was evaluated at different surface coverages. Further, the nature of surface poisoning and mechanism for surface renewal is also discussed. Finally, a new reaction pathway is proposed for the complete oxidation of formaldehyde to carbon dioxide.

Unlocking active sites for formaldehyde oxidation on manganese oxide catalyst

255th National Meeting (2018)

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