DRIFT studies on promotion mechanism of H3PW12O40 in selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3

Heteropoly acids (HPAs) have been effectively utilized in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO to improve the NH 3 absorption capacity and alkaline/alkali metal resistance for SCR catalysts. However, despite the promise on super-acidities, their other properties that would work on SCR process are still lack of exploration. In this study, a 12-tungstaphosphoric acid (H 3 PW 12 O 40 , HPW) was selected to modify a well-reported CeO 2 catalyst. The resulted CeO 2 /HPW catalyst was subsequently utilized for SCR of NO with excess NH 3 , which revealed a significantly promoted performance in SCR reaction. DRIFT analyses showed that the unique NO 2 absorption capacity of HPW could prevent the NO 2 being further oxidized into nitrate species and the abundant Brønsted acid sites could effectively retain the NH 3 , avoiding them being over-oxidized at evaluated temperatures. The presence of NO 2 was demonstrated able to induce a so called “fast SCR” reaction over the CeO 2 /HPW catalyst, which effectively facilitated the SCR reaction. Furthermore, we have also constructed a CeO 2 @HPW catalyst, which showed an enhanced SO 2 poisoning resistance in SCR reaction.