Oxide Catalysts with Ultrastrong Resistance to SO2 Deactivation for Removing Nitric Oxide at Low Temperature

Abstract Nitrogen oxides are one of the major sources of air pollution. To remove these pollutants originating from combustion of fossil fuels remains challenging in steel, cement, and glass industries as the catalysts are severely deactivated by SO 2 during the low‐temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) process. Here, a MnO X /CeO 2 nanorod catalyst with outstanding resistance to SO 2 deactivation is reported, which is designed based on critical information obtained from in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments under reaction conditions and theoretical calculations. The catalysts show almost no activity loss (apparent NO X reaction rate kept unchanged at 1800 µmol g −1 h −1 ) for 1000 h test at 523 K in the presence of 200 ppm SO 2 . This unprecedented performance is achieved by establishing a dynamic equilibrium between sulfates formation and decomposition over the CeO 2 surface during the reactions and preventing the MnO X cluster from the steric hindrance induced by SO 2 , which minimized the deactivation of the active sites of MnO X /CeO 2 . This work presents the ultralong lifetime of catalysts in the presence of SO 2 , along with decent activity, marking a milestone in practical applications in low‐temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO X .