Ozone-enhanced deep catalytic oxidation of toluene over a platinum-ceria-supported BEA zeolite catalyst

Deep catalytic oxidation of toluene in low concentrations by ozone on a supported Pt-Ce/BEA catalyst using a facile preparation method was investigated. The catalyst was prepared using a simple grinding and calcination process, and then characterized by inductively coupled plasma elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, H 2 temperature programmed reduction, O 2 and toluene temperature programmed desorption, and ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy. The characterization results showed that Pt nanoparticles and CeO 2 intimately contacted on the surface of the catalyst, and a strong interaction occurred between them. The catalyst was employed for toluene oxidation with ozone because a strong interaction occurs between the Pt NPs and CeO 2 . We aimed to investigate the interaction between the Pt NPs and CeO 2 ; thus, we compared the three catalysts. Pt-Ce/BEA exhibited superior catalytic performance (>99% toluene conversion and >99% CO 2 selectivity at 90 °C) compared to Pt/BEA (85% toluene conversion and 63% CO 2 selectivity) and Ce/BEA (>99% toluene conversion and 59% CO 2 selectivity). The strong interaction between the Pt nanoparticles and CeO 2 increased the amount of oxygen vacancy and thus improved the ozone decomposition activity, which yielded more active oxygen species and contributed to the toluene oxidation.