Cr doped Mn3O4 thermal catalytic isopropanol degradation at low-temperature and catalytic mechanism research

Thermal catalytic oxidation is an important method for organic gaseous compounds degradation, which has been researched intensively. Here, Cr-doped Mn3O4 thermal catalyst with high-performance was synthesized by using a facile calcination method. Cr-doped Mn3O4 exhibited a large specific surface area, narrow band gap, and abundant oxygen vacancies. Cr-doped Mn3O4 presented an enhanced thermal catalytic activity for isopropanol degradation compared to pristine Mn3O4 at 80–200 °C. The enhanced performance could be attributed to the following three points. The large specific surface area could provide more active sites in the catalytic reaction and conducive to the thermal catalytic reaction. The narrow band gap might reduce the excitation energy of carriers and decrease the initial reaction temperature. The existence of oxygen vacancy could realize the efficient separation of carriers and further improve the thermal catalytic activity. After 25 h of thermal catalytic reaction, the activity of Cr-doped Mn3O4 did not decrease significantly, proving its good physicochemical stability. This work provided a research idea for the construction of efficient thermal catalysts in the field of air purification.