Highly reactive methyl group drives selective catalytic reduction of NOx by methanol on bismuth oxide nanoparticle implanted FER zeolite

Selective catalytic reduction by methanol (Methanol-SCR) is a promising technology for the deNOx treatment of the exhaust with high concentration of sulfur. Herein, nano-bismuth oxide implanted FER zeolites (Bi-FER) have been successfully synthesized as Methanol-SCR catalysts, on which the optimum reaction temperature shows a big shift from 450 down to 300 °C comparing with state of the art. The catalytic active species of Bi-FER catalyst have been investigated by multi-characterization methods combined by theoretical simulation. Methyl groups generated on Brønsted acid sites neighboring with nano-bismuth oxide were demonstrated to exhibit extraordinary reactivity towards NOx, resulting in a high deNOx performance at low temperature. A strategy by the activation of methanol to produce reactive methyl groups was put forward for the development of Methanol-SCR catalysts.