Oxidative decomposition with PEG-MnO2 catalyst for removal of formaldehyde: Chemical aspects on HCHO oxidation mechanism

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is a representative indoor pollutant that can adversely affect human health, and research on HCHO removal at room temperature is actively needed. In this study, a carbon-based material, Polyethylene glycol #20000(PEG #20000), is used to prepare PEG-MnO2 by doping on MnO2. Glucose-doped MnO2 (G-MnO2) and birnessite-doped MnO2 (δ-MnO2) are utilized to compare removal efficiencies with PEG-MnO2. The efficiency of PEG-MnO2 is measured to be 96.8 % under the conditions of 60 % relative humidity and GHSV of 240 L⋅gcat-1⋅h−1. In addition, PEG-MnO2 catalysts demonstrated longer stability by maintaining a constant efficiency for 720 min. The superior performance of PEG-MnO2 is due to the formation of oxygen vacancies after PEG-doping which promote the oxidation of HCHO. Therefore, PEG-MnO2 is expected to attract attention as a catalyst for HCHO removal at room temperature because it is easy to synthesize and has superb catalytic performance.