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The promoting effect of Ce on Ag/ZrO2 catalyst for the total oxidation of toluene into CO2 in the presence of water vapor

  • Original Paper: Sol-gel and hybrid materials for catalytic, photoelectrochemical and sensor applications
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Abstract

The development of advanced catalysts to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is of significant environmental and economic importance. In this work, toluene was chosen as a representative of VOCs because of its high toxicity to human health. Silver-based catalysts Ag/ZrO2 and Ag/Ce-ZrO2 with 2 wt.% Ag and 10 wt.% Ce were prepared for the low temperature total oxidation of toluene (C7H8) in the presence of water vapor. The effect of cerium species on physicochemical properties and catalytic activity in the toluene oxidation of mesoporous catalysts were investigated. The new Ag/Ce-ZrO2 material possesses the highest catalytic activity in the total oxidation of toluene at low temperature in comparison to Ag/ZrO2. 100% C7H8 conversion to CO2 is achieved between 300 and 550 °C. It reveals that the oxygen species presented in Ag/Ce-ZrO2 are the key factor in toluene oxidation. Silver species increases the amount of surface lattice oxygen species and leads to the migration of lattice oxygen, which effectively facilitates the low-temperature conversion of toluene oxidation.

Graphical Abstract

The graphical abstract briefly describes the mechanism of the toluene oxidation reaction which can be explained as follows: First, toluene molecule was adsorbed on the active site (Ag species) to form the interface Ag and toluene. Ag-C7H8 species react with the activated oxygen at the surface to form CO2 and H2O. Then the gaseous oxygen reoxidates the catalyst.

Highlights

  • Ag/Ce-ZrO2 catalyst shows the highest catalytic activity in the total oxidation of toluene at low temperature compared to Ag/ZrO2.

  • Oxygen species presented in Ag/Ce-ZrO2 are the key factor in toluene oxidation.

  • Ag species facilitate the low-temperature activity of toluene oxidation over Ag/Ce-ZrO2.

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Funding

This study was supported by the ministry of higher education and scientific research of Tunisia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Materials Chemistry and Catalysis LR01ES08, University of Tunis El manar, Campus Universitaire Farhat Hached d’El Manar, 2092, Tunis, Tunisia

    Rimeh Ismail, Jihène Arfaoui, Zouhaier Ksibi & Abdelhamid Ghorbel

  2. ICGM, University of Montpellier, ENSCM (MACS), CNRS, Montpellier, France

    Gérard Delahay

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  1. Rimeh Ismail
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  2. Jihène Arfaoui
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  4. Abdelhamid Ghorbel
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Correspondence to Rimeh Ismail.

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Ismail, R., Arfaoui, J., Ksibi, Z. et al. The promoting effect of Ce on Ag/ZrO2 catalyst for the total oxidation of toluene into CO2 in the presence of water vapor. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 105, 871–880 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-023-06043-8

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