Fabrication of MnO2 coating on aluminum honeycomb for fast catalytic decomposition of ozone at room temperature

Herein, the coating of MnO2nanomaterials on the surface of aluminum honeycomb was carried out to meet the requirements of high air velocity, low pressure drop and high activity in ozone removal scenarios. A commercially readily available waterborne silica sol mixed with waterborne acrylate latex was creatively utilized as the binder. A series of coating samples were prepared by spray coating method and evaluated focusing on their adhesion strength and catalytic activity towards ozone decomposition in an air duct at room temperature, by varying MnO2/binder mass ratio and number of sprayings. It was found that the adhesion strength of the catalytic coatings on the aluminum honeycomb increased with the increase of binder mass ratio, but the increased binder made the catalyst particles closely packed,resulting in reduced exposure of active sites and decrease of ozone conversion. Accordingly,catalyst slurry with 81.8 wt.% MnO2in dry coating and spraying times of two were determined as the optimal process parameters. As-prepared aluminum honeycomb filter with MnO2layer of 50 μm thickness achieved ozone conversion of 29.3%±1.7% under conditions of air velocity 3.0 m/sec, relative humidity50%, room temperature(26°C) and initial ozone concentration of 200 ppbV. This filter can be well adaptable to indoor air purification equipment operating at high air velocity with low wind resistance.