Enhancing strategies for the activity and H2O resistance of MnCo-CMS flexible SCR catalysts and hydrophobic modification by modulating the surface energy

Melamine sponge is a flexible organic rubber-plastic foam characterized by its highly porous three-dimensional mesh structure. By optimizing the carbonization process of the melamine sponge, NH3-SCR catalysts with enhanced flexibility were developed. In this study, MnCo-CMS (Carbonized melamine sponge) catalysts were synthesized using the impregnation method. Response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) were employed to investigate the effects of impregnation time, loading, and calcination temperature on the mass reaction rate and N2 selectivity. The results showed that loading had the most significant influence, followed by calcination temperature and impregnation time. Under the optimal preparation conditions of 32.5 wt% loading, the calcination temperature at 420 °C, and the impregnation time for 342 min, the mass reaction rate could reach 11.02 cm3min-1g−1, and the N2 selectivity could achieve 87.4 %. Experimental validation confirmed that various preparation processes resulted in catalysts with high SCR activity (rate constant k > 9.5 cm3min-1g−1 and N2 selectivity > 80 %). The Mn-Co loading should be within the range of 28–36 wt%, the calcination temperature within the range of 380–420 °C, and the impregnation time should be 150 min or more. Materials with low surface energy could result in excellent hydrophobicity. In this study, it was found that melamine sponges could be modified into low surface energy carbon foams by temperature modulation. The change in surface energy was utilized as a modification approach to enhance the water resistance of the NH3-SCR catalyst. Importantly, the optimized process significantly improved the stability and water resistance of the catalysts.