Effect of Cu-ZSM-5 catalysts with different CuO particle size on selective catalytic oxidation of N,N-Dimethylformamide

N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF), a nitrogen-containing volatile organic compound (NVOC) with high emissions from the spray industry, has attracted increasing attention. In this study, Cu-ZSM-5 catalysts with different CuO particle sizes of 3, 6, 9 and 12 nm were synthesized and tested for DMF selective catalytic oxidation. The crystal structure and physicochemical properties of the catalyst were studied by various characterization methods. The catalytic activity increases with increasing CuO particle size, and complete conversion can be achieved at 300–350 °C. The Cu-12 nm catalyst has the highest catalytic activity and can achieve complete conversion at 300 °C. The Cu-6 nm sample has the highest N2 selectivity at lower temperatures, reaching 95% at 300 °C. The activity of the catalysts is determined by the surface CuO cluster species, the bulk CuO species and the chemisorbed surface oxygen species. The high N2 selectivity of the catalyst is attributed to the ratio of isolated Cu2+ and bulk CuO species, and weak acidity is beneficial to the formation of N2. The results in this work will provide a new design of NVOC catalytic oxidation catalysts.