Tailoring local environment of oxygen vacancies by molybdenum doping on MnO2 for enhanced catalytic oxidation of VOCs

The microenvironment of oxygen vacancies plays an important role in metal oxide catalysts for VOCs catalytic oxidation. A simple strategy was provided to tailor the local environment of oxygen vacancies over MnO2 via Mo doping engineering to enhance its catalytic activity. The 0.3MoMnO2 with Mo/Mn quality ratio of 0.3 showed superior catalytic oxidation performance of benzene and anti-toxicity (H2O, SO2, and particulate matter). Its benzene oxidation rate at 190℃ was 1.95 × 10−4 mol/g/h, which was about three and two times higher than that of MnO2 and 0.9MoMnO2, respectively. The Mn-Ov-Mo sites were experimentally verified as the dominant active centers on 0.3MoMnO2. Through DFT calculation, Mo doping could enhance the oxygen adsorption on oxygen vacancies of MnO2. The remarkably well activity of Mn-Ov-Mo was rationally explained by the moderate oxygen adsorption energy to maintain a dynamic equilibrium of oxygen adsorption and desorption, which enhanced the oxygen activation, thereby promoting the benzene catalytic oxidation. However, excessive Mo doping induced the formation of Mo-Ov-Mo, and its side-on oxygen adsorption configuration was not conducive to oxygen transfer. This work broadens the understanding of the relationship between the local environment of oxygen vacancies and catalytic activities, which is beneficial for the rational design of efficient VOCs catalysts.