Effect of the modification of alumina supports with chloride on the structure and catalytic performance of Ag/Al2O3 catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with propene and H2/propene

The effect of the modification of an alumina support with chloride on the structure and the catalytic performance of Ag/Al2O3 catalysts (SA) was investigated for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO using C3H6 or H2/C3H6 as reductants. The Ag/Al2O3 catalyst and Cl−-modified Ag/Al2O3 catalysts (SA-Cl) were prepared by a conventional impregnation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm analysis, electron probe microanalysis, transmission electron microscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction. The catalytic activities in the C3H6-SCR and H2/C3H6-SCR reactions were evaluated, and the reaction mechanism was studied using in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy and synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectroscopy (SVUV-PIMS). We found that Cl− modification of the alumina-supported Ag/Al2O3 catalysts facilitated the formation of oxidized silver species (Agnδ+) that catalyze the moderate-temperature oxidation of hydrocarbons into partial oxidation products (mainly acetate species) capable of participating in the SCR reaction. The low-temperature promoting effect of H2 on the C3H6-SCR (“hydrogen effect”) was found to originate from the enhanced decomposition of strongly adsorbed nitrates on the catalyst surface and the conversion of these adsorbed species to –NCO and –CN species. This “H2 effect” occurs in the presence of Agnδ+ species rather than the metallic Ag0 species. A gaseous intermediate, acrylonitrile (CH2CHCN), was also identified in the H2/C3H6-SCR reaction using SVUV-PIMS. These findings provide novel insights in the structure-activity relationship and reaction mechanisms of the SA-catalyzed HC-SCR reaction of NO.