MOF-derived FeOx with highly dispersed active sites as an efficient catalyst for enchaning catalytic oxidation of VOCs

Highly efficient and stable catalysts serve as the crucial factor of VOCs catalytic oxidation technology. Iron-based materials are recognized as potential VOCs catalysts due to their cost-effectiveness and non-toxic nature. However, the limited catalytic performance of traditional iron oxide catalysts hinders their further industrial applications. A series of FeOx catalysts were synthesized via pyrolysis of Fe-based MOFs with diverse morphologies for toluene catalytic oxidation. Characterization results demonstrated that the FeOx-100 catalyst performed optimal characteristics, including the abundant specific surface area and smaller crystallite size, which offered highly dispersed active sites and defects for toluene oxidation. The catalytic activity of FeOx-100 was improved by adjusting the precursors and pyrolysis conditions, achieving a 50% toluene conversion at 223 °C and 90% conversion at 249 °C. The redox abilities of FeOx catalysts were carefully evaluated to assess their impact on catalytic activity. The results confirmed that FeOx-100 exhibited superior low-temperature reducibility, remarkable presence of surface active oxygen and lattice oxygen species, jointly facilitating the toluene oxidation performance at lower temperatures. The results of in situ DRIFTS provided evidence supporting a degradation pathway for toluene, likely proceeding as follows: toluene→ benzaldehyde→ benzoate→ anhydride → …→ CO2 and H2O.