Ag-Doped δ-MnO2 Nanosheets as Robust Catalysts for Toluene Combustion

Ag-doped δ-MnO2 catalysts were synthesized using an alcohol-initiated redox precipitation method at room temperature; toluene was used as a probe molecule of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to evaluate the catalytic activity of the as-prepared catalyst. The catalytic activity evaluation revealed that the activity for catalytic combustion of toluene was much enhanced by Ag doping. The optimized catalyst (1Ag-MnO2) presented the best catalytic activity for toluene combustion, with the conversion of toluene corresponding to 50% (T50) and 90% (T90) at just 182 and 190 °C under testing conditions, respectively. In addition, 1Ag-MnO2 exhibited excellent long-term stability and water resistance. A series of techniques were used to characterize the as-prepared catalysts, and the characterizations demonstrated that the enhanced catalytic performance of Ag-MnO2 catalysts was closely associated with the much-increased active oxygen species content generated by Ag doping. Therefore, the alcohol-initiated redox precipitation method is a versatile process to prepare Ag-doped MnO2 catalysts, and the as-prepared Ag-doped MnO2 catalyst is a robust material for the abatement of toluene.