Atmospheric heterogeneous reactions on soot:A review

Soot particles,composed of elemental carbon and organic compounds,have attracted widespread attention in recent years due to their significant impacts on climate,the environment and human health.Soot has been found to be chemically and physically active in atmospheric aging processes,which leads to alterations in its composition,morphology,hygroscopicity and optical properties and thus changes its environmental and health effects.The heterogeneous reactions on soot also have a significant impact on the transformation of gaseous pollutants into secondary aerosols.Therefore,the interactions between soot and atmospheric substances have been widely investigated to better understand the environmental behaviors of soot.In this review,we systematically summarize the progress and developments in the heterogeneous chemistry on soot over the past_(3)0 years.Atmospheric trace constituents such as NO_(2),O_(3),SO_(2),N_(2)O_(5),HNO_(3),H_(2)SO_(4),OH radical,HO_(2)radical,peroxyacetyl nitrate etc.,are presented in detail from the aspect of their heterogeneous reactions on soot.The possible mechanisms and the effects of environmental conditions on these heterogeneous reactions are also addressed.Further,the impacts of the heterogeneous reactions of soot on the atmospheric environment are discussed,and some aspects of soot-related research which require further investigation are proposed as well.

Interface sites on vanadia-based catalysts are highly active for NO_(x) removal under realistic conditions

TiO_(2)-supported V_(2)O_(5)catalysts are commonly used in NO_(x)reduction with ammonia due to their robust catalytic performance.Over these catalysts,it is generally considered that the active species are mainly derived from the vanadia species rather than the intrinsic structure of V-O-Ti entities,namely the interface sites.To reveal the role of V-O-Ti entities in NH_(3)-SCR,herein,we prepared TiO_(2)/V_(2)O_(5)catalysts and demonstrated that V-O-Ti entities were more active for NO_(x)reduction under wet conditions than the V sites(V=O)working alone.On the V-O-Ti entities,kinetic measurements and first principles calculations revealed that NH_(3)activation exhibited a much lower energy barrier than that on V=O sites.Under wet conditions,the V-O-Ti interface significantly inhibited the transformation of V=O to V-OH sites thus benefiting NH_(3)activation.Under wet conditions,meanwhile,the migration of NH_(4)^(+)from Ti site neighboring the V-O-Ti interface to Ti site of the V-O-Ti interface was exothermic;thus,V-O-Ti entities together with neighboring Ti sites could serve as channels linking NH_(3)pool and active centers for activation of NH_(4)^(+).This finding reveals that the V-O-Ti interface sites on V-based catalysts play a crucial role in NO_(x)removal under realistic conditions,providing a new perspective on NH_(3)-SCR mechanism.

Tuning the fill percentage in the hydrothermal synthesis process to increase catalyst performance for ozone decomposition

The performance of Ce-OMS-2 catalysts was improved by tuning the fill percentage in the hydrothermal synthesis process to increase the oxygen vacancy density.The Ce-OMS-2 samples were prepared with different fill percentages by means of a hydrothermal approach(i.e.80%,70%,50%and 30%).Ce-OMS-2 with 80%fill percentage(Ce-OMS-2-80%)showed ozone conversion of 97%,and a lifetime experiment carried out for more than20 days showed that the activity of the catalyst still remained satisfactorily high(91%).For Ce-OMS-2-80%,Mn ions in the framework as well as K ions in the tunnel sites were replaced by Ce^4+,while for the others only Mn ions were replaced.O2-TPD and H2-TPR measurements proved that the Ce-OMS-2-80%catalyst possessed the greatest number of mobile surface oxygen species.XPS and XAFS showed that increasing the fill percentage can reduce the AOS of Mn and augment the amount of oxygen vacancies.The active sites,which accelerate the elimination of O3,can be enriched by increasing the oxygen vacancies.These findings indicate that increasing ozone removal can be achieved by tuning the fill percentage in the hydrothermal synthesis process.

Layered sphere-shaped TiO_2 capped with gold nanoparticles on structural defects and their catalysis of formaldehyde oxidation

We describe here a one-step method for the synthesis of Au/TiO2 nanosphere materials,which were formed by layered deposition of multiple anatase TiO2 nanosheets.The Au nanoparticles were stabilized by structural defects in each TiO2 nanosheet,including crystal steps and edges,thereby fixing the Au-TiO2 perimeter interface.Reactant transfer occurred along the gaps between these TiO2 nanosheet layers and in contact with catalytically active sites at the Au-TiO2 interface.The doped Au induced the formation of oxygen vacancies in the Au-TiO2 interface.Such vacancies are essential for generating active oxygen species（-＊O^-） on the TiO2 surface and Ti^3＋ ions in bulk TiO2.These ions can then form Ti^3＋-O^--Ti^4＋species,which are known to enhance the catalytic activity of formaldehyde（HCHO） oxidation.These studies on structural and oxygen vacancy defects in Au/TiO2 samples provide a theoretical foundation for the catalytic mechanism of HCHO oxidation on oxide-supported Au materials.

A superior catalyst for ozone decomposition: NiFe layered double hydroxide

Ground-level ozone is harmful to human beings and ecosystems,while room-temperature catalytic decomposition is the most effective technology for ozone abatement.However,solving the deactivation of existing metal oxide catalysts was caused by oxygen-containing intermediates is challenging.Here,we successfully prepared a two-dimensional NiFe layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) catalyst via a facile co-precipitation method,which exhibited stable and highly efficient performance of ozone decomposition under harsh operating conditions (high space velocity and humidity).The NiFe-LDH catalyst with Ni/Fe=3and crystallization time over 5 hr (named Ni3Fe-5) exhibited the best catalytic performance,which was well beyond that of most existing manganese-based oxide catalysts.Specifically,under relative humidity of 65%and space velocity of 840 L/(g·hr),Ni3Fe-5 showed ozone conversion of 89%and 76%for 40 ppmV of O3within 6 and 168 hr at room-temperature,respectively.We demonstrated that the layered structure of NiFe-LDH played a decisive role in its outstanding catalytic performance in terms of both activity and water resistance.The LDH catalysts fundamentally avoids the deactivation caused by the occupancy of oxygen vacancies by oxygen-containing species (H2O,O-,and O2-) in manganese-based oxide.This study indicated the promising application potential of LDHs than manganese-based oxide catalysts in removal of gaseous ozone.