Highly dispersed V2O5/TiO2 modified with transition metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Co) as efficient catalysts for the selective reduction of NO with NH3

Different transition metals were used to modify V 2 O 5 -based catalysts (M-V, M = Cu, Fe, Mn, Co) on TiO 2 via impregnation, for the selective reduction of NO with NH 3 . The introduced metals induced high dispersion in the vanadium species and the formation of vanadates on the TiO 2 support, and increased the amount of surface acid sites and the strength of these acids. The strong acid sites might be responsible for the high N 2 selectivity at higher temperatures. Among these catalysts, Cu-V/TiO 2 showed the highest activity and N 2 selectivity at 225–375 °C. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, NH 3 -temperature-programmed desorption, and in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy suggested that the improved performance was probably due to more active surface oxygen species and increased strong surface acid sites. The outstanding activity, stability, and SO 2 /H 2 O durability of Cu-V/TiO 2 make it a candidate to be a NO x removal catalyst for stationary flue gas.