Enhancing catalytic oxidation of toluene over Ag/Co3O4 by regulating Ag-Co interaction

Tuning the interaction between Ag and its supporters has been well accepted as a desirable way that adjusting the physicochemical properties and the catalytic performance of Ag-based catalysts. In this work, an in-situ surface reaction strategy was proposed to prepare high-performance Ag/Co3O4 catalyst by controlling the Ag-Co interaction for the purpose of efficient degradation of aromatic VOCs. The results of characterizations confirmed that the unique surface reaction strategy was conducive to anchoring Ag on the surface of Co3O4 and significantly enhanced Ag-Co interaction, as a result, Co-O bond was weakened by charge transfer between Ag and Co species, which showed great advantages in improving the reactivity of lattice oxygen species and in accelerating the adsorption of gaseous oxygen. Benefiting from this, 1%Ag/Co3O4-R synthesized by surface reaction method exhibited the best catalytic efficiency (T90 = 238 °C), excellent stability and admirable cyclic stability. In-situ DRIFTS spectroscopy investigation revealed that the loading of Ag remained unchanged reaction path of the catalytic oxidation of toluene, and benzoate was deemed a decisive stage in the oxidation course of toluene.