Surface engineering of ZnO electrocatalyst by N doping towards electrochemical CO_(2) reduction

The discovery of efficient,selective,and stable electrocatalysts can be a key point to produce the largescale chemical fuels via electrochemical CO_(2) reduction(ECR).In this study,an earth-abundant and nontoxic ZnO-based electrocatalyst was developed for use in gas-diffusion electrodes(GDE),and the effect of nitrogen(N)doping on the ECR activity of ZnO electrocatalysts was investigated.Initially,a ZnO nanosheet was prepared via the hydrothermal method,and nitridation was performed at different times to control the N-doping content.With an increase in the N-doping content,the morphological properties of the nanosheet changed significantly,namely,the 2D nanosheets transformed into irregularly shaped nanoparticles.Furthermore,the ECR performance of Zn O electrocatalysts with different N-doping content was assessed in 1.0 M KHCO_(3) electrolyte using a gas-diffusion electrode-based ECR cell.While the ECR activity increased after a small amount of N doping,it decreased for higher N doping content.Among them,the N:ZnO-1 h electrocatalysts showed the best CO selectivity,with a faradaic efficiency(FE_(CO))of 92.7%at-0.73 V vs.reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE),which was greater than that of an undoped Zn O electrocatalyst(FE_(CO)of 63.4%at-0.78 V_(RHE)).Also,the N:ZnO-1 h electrocatalyst exhibited outstanding durability for 16 h,with a partial current density of-92.1 mA cm^(-2).This improvement of N:ZnO-1 h electrocatalyst can be explained by density functional theory calculations,demonstrating that this improvement of N:ZnO-1 h electrocatalyst comes from(ⅰ)the optimized active sites lowering the free energy barrier for the rate-determining step(RDS),and(ⅱ)the modification of electronic structure enhancing the electron transfer rate by N doping.

Cerium-tungsten oxides supported on activated red mud for the selective catalytic reduction of NO_(x)

Activated red mud(RM)has been proved to be a promising base material for the selective catalysis reduction(SCR)of NOx.The inherent low reducibility and acidity limited its low-temperature activity.In this work,molybdenum oxide,tungsten oxide,and cerium oxide were used to reconfigure the redox sites and acid sites of red mud based catalyst.When activated red mud was reconfigured by cerium-tungsten oxide(Ce-W@RM),the NOx conversion kept above 90%at 219-480℃.The existence of Ce^(3+)/Ce^(4+) redox electron pairs provided more surface adsorbed oxygen(O_(α)) and served as a redox cycle.Positive interactions between Ce,W species and Fe oxide in red mud occurred,which led to the formation of unsaturated chemical bond and promoted the activation of adsorbed NH_(3) species.WO_(3) and Ce_(2)(WO_(4))_(3)(formed by solid-state reaction between Ce and W species)could provide more Brønsted acid sites(W-O modes of WO_(3),W=O or W-O-W modes of Ce_(2)(WO_(4))_(3)).CeO_(2) species could provide more Lewis acid sites.The Langmuir-Hinshelwood(L-H)routes and Eley-Rideal(E-R)routes occurred in the low-temperature SCR reaction on the Ce-W@RM surface.NH_(4)^(+) species on Brønsted acid sites,NH_(3) species on Lewis acid sites,bidentate nitrate and bridging nitrate species were key active intermediates species.

Effect of samarium on the N_(2) selectivity of Sm_(x)Mn_(0.3-x)Ti catalysts during selective catalytic reduction of NO_(x) with NH_(3)

This work aims to study the improvement effect of Sm on Mn-based catalysts for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH3.A series of Sm_(x)Mn_(0.3-x)-xTi catalysts (x=0,0.1,0.15,0.2,and 0.3) were prepared by co-precipitation.Activity tests indicated that the Sm_(0.15)Mn_(0.15)Ti catalyst showed superior performances,with a NO conversion of 100%and N_(2)selectivity above 87%at 180–300℃.The characterizations showed that Sm doping suppressed the crystallization of TiO_(2)and Mn2O3phases and increased the specific surface area and acidity.In particular,the surface area increased from 152.2 m^(2)·g^(-1)for Mn0.3Ti to 241.7 m^(2)·g^(-1)for Sm_(0.15)Mn_(0.15)Ti.These effects contributed to the high catalytic activity.The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicated that the relative atomic ratios of Sm^(3+)/Sm and Oβ/O of Sm_(0.15)Mn_(0.15)Ti were 76.77at%and 44.11at%,respectively.The presence of Sm contributed to an increase in surface-absorbed oxygen (Oβ) and a decrease in Mn^(4+)surface concentration,which improved the catalytic activity.In the results of hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction(H_(2)-TPR),the presence of Sm induced a higher reduction temperature and lower H_(2)consumption (0.3 mmol·g^(-1)) for the Sm_(0.15)Mn_(0.15)Ti catalyst compared to the Mn0.3Ti catalyst.The decrease in Mn^(4+)weakened the redox property of the catalysts and increased the N_(2)selectivity by suppressing N_(2)O formation from NH3oxidation and the nonselective catalytic reduction reaction.The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectra (DRIFTs) revealed that NH3-SCR of NO over the Sm_(0.15)Mn_(0.15)Ti catalyst mainly followed the Eley–Rideal mechanism.Sm doping increased surface-absorbed oxygen and weakened the redox property to improve the NO conversion and N_(2)selectivity of the Sm_(0.15)Mn_(0.15)Ti catalyst.

Influence of chromium modification on the properties of MnO_x-FeO_x catalysts for the low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH_3

Catalytic properties of MnOx-FeOx complex oxide （hereafter denoted as Mn-Fe） catalysts modified with different loadings of chromium oxide were investigated by using the combination of physico-cbemical techniques, such as N2 physisorption, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, high-resolution transmission electron microscope （HRTEM）, in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （in situ FT-IR） and temperature-programmed reduction （TPR） and their catalytic activities were evaluated with the selective catalytic reduction （SCR） of NOx by NH3. It was found that with the addition of Cr, more NO could be removed in the low-temperature window （below 120 ℃）. Among the tested catalysts, Mn-Fe- Cr （2 ： 2 ： 1） catalyst exhibited the best catalytic performance at 80 ℃ with the NO conversion higher than 90%. The combination of the reaction and characterization results indicated that （1） the strong interaction among tertiary metal oxides existed in the catalysts when Cr was appropriately added, which made the active components better dispersed with less agglomeration and sintering and the largest BET specific surface area could be obtained; （2） Cr improved the low-temperature reducibility of the catalyst and promoted the formation of the active intermediate （-NH3＋）, which favored the low-temperature SCR reaction.

Kinetics of selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH_3 on Fe-Mo/ZSM-5 catalyst

The catalyst of Fe-Mo/ZSM-5 has been found to be more active than Fe-ZSM-5 and Mo/ZSM-5 separately for selective catalytic reduction （SCR） of nitric oxide （NO） with NH3. The kinetics of the SCR reaction in the presence of O2 was studied in this work. The results showed that the observed reaction orders were 0.74-0.99, 0.01-0.13, and 0 for NO, O2 and NH3 at 350-450℃, respectively. And the apparent activation energy of the SCR was 65 kJ/mol on the Fe-Mo/ZSM-5 catalyst. The SCR mechanism was also deduced. Adsorbed NO species can react directly with adsorbed ammonia species on the active sites to form N2 and H2O. Gaseous O2 might serve as a reoxidizing agent for the active sites that have undergone reduction in the SCR process. It is also important to note that a certain amount of NO was decomposed directly over the Fe-Mo/ZSM-5 catalyst in the absence of NH3.

Effect of dispersion and distribution of tungsten on W/HZSM-5 for selective catalytic reduction of NO by acetylene

Catalytic performance of W/HZSM-5 in selective catalytic reduction of NO by acetylene was investigated in a reaction system with 1600 ppm of NO, 800 ppm of C2H2, and 9.95% of O2 in He. It was found that promotional effect of tungsten on the reaction is strongly affected by catalyst preparation conditions and Si/Al ratio of the parent zeolite. A better dispersion of tungsten on HZSM-5 and relatively more monomeric tungsten species were found on 8%W/HZSM-5 prepared by impregnation of the zeolite with lower SiO2/A1203 ratio （25） in ammonic ammonium tungstate solution and calcination of the resulting material at higher temperature （550 ℃）. The highest NO conversion to N2 of 86.3% in the reaction system was obtained at 350 ℃ over the catalyst thus prepared. The mechanism of monomeric tungsten species improving the C2H2-SCR can be attributed to accelerating the formation of active nitrate species.

Kinetic Model and Simulation of Promoted Selective Non-catalytic Reduction by Sodium Carbonate

The detailed kinetic model of selective non-catalytic reduction(SNCR)of nitric oxide,including so- dium species reactions,was developed on the basis of recent studies on thermal DeNOx mechanism,NOxOUT mechanism and promotion mechanism of Na2CO3.The model was validated by comparison with several experi- mental findings,thus providing an effective tool for the primary and promoted SNCR process simulation.Experi- mental and simulated results show part-per-million level of sodium carbonate enhances NO removal efficiency and extend the effective SNCR temperature range in comparison with use of a nitrogen agent alone.The kinetic model- ing,sensitivity and rate-of-production analysis suggest that the performance improvement can be explained as ho- mogeneous sodium species reactions producing more reactive OH radicals.The net result of sodium species reac- tions is conversion of H2O and inactive HO2 radicals into reactive OH radicals,i.e.H2O+HO2=3OH,which en- hances the SNCR performance of nitrogen agents by mainly increasing the production rate of NH2 radicals.More- over,N2O and CO are eliminated diversely via the reactions Na+N2O=NaO+N2,NaO+CO=Na+CO2 and NaO2+CO=NaO+CO2,in the promoted SNCR process,especially in the NOxOUT process.

Transition Metal Doped MnO_x-CeO₂Catalysts by Ultrasonic Immersing for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO with NH₃at Low Temperature

Transition metals doped Mn-based catalysts were prepared via ultrasonic immersing method for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx from fuel gas. The Catalysts’ DeNOx efficiency and tolerance to sulfur were investigated in the paper. XRD results demonstrate high dispersion of Mn, Ce and M (Pr, Y, Zr, W) elements on TiO2 carrier, which is favor for reduction of active materials content. Mn-Ce-W catalyst presents uniform particle size about 500 nm to 800 nm from SEM pictures and shows the best NOx conversion of 93.2% at 200°C and 98.4% at 250°C, respectively. Sulfur tolerance analysis indicated that transition metals M can improve the catalysts’ performance when 0.01% SO2 exists in the fuel gas, because metal doping into the Mn-Ce catalyst can inhibit the sulfate deposition, especially metal sulfate, on the catalyst, which can be seen from the Fourier infrared spectrum.

Low-Temperature Denitrification Performance of Cu2O/Activated Carbon Catalysts for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx by CO

To improve the denitrification performance of carbon-based materials for sintering flue gas,we prepared a composite catalyst comprising coconut shell activated carbon(AC)modified by thermal oxidation air.The microstructure,the specific surface area,the pore volume,the crystal structure,and functional groups presented in the prepared Cu2O/AC catalysts were thoroughly characterized.By using scanning electron microscopy(SEM),nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms,Fourier-transform infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry(XRD),the effects of Cu2O loading and calcination temperature on Cu2O/AC catalysts were investigated at low temperature(150℃).The research shows that Cu on the Cu2O/AC catalyst is in the form of Cu2O with good crystalline performance and is spherical and uniformly dispersed on the AC surface.The loading of Cu2O increases the active sites and the specific surface area of the reaction gas contact,which is conducive to the rapid progress of the carbon monoxide selective catalytic reduction(CO-SCR)reaction.When the loading of Cu2O was 8%and the calcination temperature was 500℃,the removal rate of NOx facilitated by the Cu2O/AC catalyst reached 97.9%.These findings provide a theoretical basis for understanding the denitrification of sintering flue gas.

(La0.8A0.2)MnO3(A=Sr,K) perovskite catalysts for NO and C10H22 oxidation and selective reduction of NO by C(10)H(22)

In this work, we studied the catalytic activity of LaMnO3 and(La0.8A0.2)MnO3(A = Sr, K) perovskite catalysts for oxidation of NO and C10H22 and selective reduction of NO by C10H22. The catalytic per‐formances of these perovskites were compared with that of a 2 wt% Pt/SiO2 catalyst. The La site substitution increased the catalytic properties for NO or C10H22 oxidation compared with the non‐substituted LaMnO3 sample. For the most efficient perovskite catalyst,(La0.8Sr0.2)MnO3, the results showed the presence of two temperature domains for NO adsorption:(1) a domain corre‐sponding to weakly adsorbed NO, desorbing at temperatures lower than 270 °C and(2) a second domain corresponding to NO adsorbed on the surface as nitrate species, desorbing at temperatures higher than 330 °C. For the Sr‐substituted perovskite, the maximum NO2 yield of 80% was observed in the intermediate temperature domain (around 285 °C). In the reactant mixture of NO/C10H22/O2/H2O/He,(La0.8Sr0.2)MnO3 perovskite showed better performance than the 2 wt% Pt/SiO2 catalyst: NO2 yields reaching 50% and 36% at 290 and 370 °C, respectively. This activity improvement was found to be because of atomic scale interactions between the A and B active sites, Sr2+ cation and Mn4+/Mn3+ redox couple. Thus,(La0.8Sr0.2)MnO3 perovskite could be an alternative free noble metal catalyst for exhaust gas after treatment.

Selective catalytic reduction of NO_(x) with NH_(3) assisted by non-thermal plasma over CeMnZrO_(x)@TiO_(2) core–shell catalyst

The presented work reports the selective catalytic reduction(SCR)of NO_(x) assisted by dielectric barrier discharge plasma via simulating marine diesel engine exhaust,and the experimental results demonstrate that the low-temperature activity of NH_(3)-SCR assisted by non-thermal plasma is enhanced significantly,particularly in the presence of a C_(3)H_(6) additive.Simultaneously,CeMnZrO_(x)@TiO_(2) exhibits strong tolerance to SO_(2) poisoning and superior catalytic stability.It is worthwhile to explore a new approach to remove NO_(x) from marine diesel engine exhaust,which is of vital significance for both academic research and practical applications.

Electron-deficient ZnO induced by heterointerface engineering as the dominant active component to boost CO_(2)-to-formate conversion

Electrocatalytic CO_(2)-to-formate conversion is considered an economically viable process.In general,Zn-based nanomaterials are well-known to be highly efficient electrocatalysts for the conversion of CO_(2) to CO,but seldom do they exhibit excellent selectivity toward formate.In this article,we demonstrate that a heterointerface catalyst ZnO/ZnSnO3 with nanosheet morphology shows enhanced selectivity with a maximum Faradaic efficiency(FE)of 86%at−0.9 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode and larger current density for the conversion of CO_(2) to formate than pristine ZnO and ZnSnO3.In particular,the FEs of the C1 products(CO+HCOO−)exceed 98%over the potential window.The experimental measurements combined with theoretical calculations revealed that the ZnO in ZnO/ZnSnO3 heterojunction delivers the valence electron depletion and accordingly optimizes Zn d-band center,which results in moderate Zn-O hybridization of HCOO*and weakened Zn-C hybridization of competing COOH*,thus greatly boosting the HCOOH generation.Our study highlights the importance of charge redistribution in catalysts on the selectivity of electrochemical CO_(2) reduction.

Molecular engineering binuclear copper catalysts for selective CO_(2) reduction to C_(2) products

Molecular copper catalysts serve as exemplary models for correlating the structure-reaction-mechanism relationship in the electrochemical CO_(2) reduction(eCO_(2)R),owing to their adaptable environments surrounding the copper metal centres.This investigation,employing density functional theory calculations,focuses on a novel family of binuclear Cu molecular catalysts.The modulation of their coordination configuration through the introduction of organic groups aims to assess their efficacy in converting CO_(2) to C_(2)products.Our findings highlight the crucial role of chemical valence state in shaping the characteristics of binuclear Cu catalysts,consequently influencing the eCO_(2)R behaviour,Notably,the Cu(Ⅱ)Cu(Ⅱ)macrocycle catalyst exhibits enhanced suppression of the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER),facilitating proton trans fer and the eCO_(2)R process.Fu rthermore,we explo re the impact of diverse electro n-withdrawing and electron-donating groups coordinated to the macrocycle(R=-F,-H,and-OCH_3)on the electron distribution in the molecular catalysts.Strategic placement of-OCH_3 groups in the macrocycles leads to a favourable oxidation state of the Cu centres and subsequent C-C coupling to form C_(2) products.This research provides fundamental insights into the design and optimization of binuclear Cu molecular catalysts for the electrochemical conversion of CO_(2) to value-added C_(2) products.

Achieving highly selective electrochemical CO_(2) reduction to C_(2)H_(4) on Cu nanosheets

The conversion of CO_(2)into value-added chemicals coupled with the storage of intermittent renewable electricity is attractive.CuO nanosheets with an average size and thickness of~30 and~20 nm have been developed,which are in situ reduced into Cu nanosheets during electrochemical CO_(2)reduction reaction(ECO_(2)RR).The derived Cu nanosheets demonstrate much higher selectivity for C2H4production than commercial CuO derived Cu powder,with an optimum Faradaic efficiency of 56.2%and a partial current density of C_(2)H_(4)as large as 171.0 mA cm^(-2)in a gas diffusion flow cell.The operando attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectra measurements and density functional theory simulations illustrate that the high activity and selectivity of Cu nanosheets originate from the edge sites on Cu nanosheets with a coordinate number around 5(4–6),which facilitates the formation of^(*)CHO rather than^(*)COH intermediate,meanwhile boosting the C-C coupling reaction of^(*)CO and^(*)CHO intermediates,which are the critical steps for C_(2)H_(4)formation.

One-pot synthesis of bimetallic CeCu-SAPO-34 for high-efficiency selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides with NH_(3) at low temperature

NH_(3) selective catalytic reduction(SCR) has been widely recognized as a promising technique for reducing nitrogen oxides from diesel vehicle exhausts. High-efficiency SCR catalysts that could perform at low temperatures are essential to denitration. In this work, a series of bimetallic CeCu-SAPO-34 molecular sieves were synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method. The Ce Cu-SAPO-34 maintained good crystallinity and a regular hexahedron appearance of Cu-SAPO-34 after introducing Ce species, while exhibiting a higher specific surface area and pore volume. The as-prepared CeCu-SAPO-34 with 0.02%(mass) Ce constituent exhibited the best catalytic activity below 300℃ and a maximum NO_(x) conversion of 99% was attained;the NO_(x) removal rates of more than 68% and 94% were achieved at 150℃ and 200℃, respectively. And the introduction of cerium species in Cu-SAPO-34 improves the low-temperature hydrothermal stability of the catalyst towards NH_(3)-SCR reaction. Additionally, the introduced Ce species could enhance the formation of abundant weak Br?nsted acid centers and promote the synergistic effect between CuO grains and isolated Cu^(2+) to enhance the redox cycle, which benefit the NH_(3)-SCR reaction.This work provides a facile synthesis method of high-efficiency SCR denitration catalysts towards diesel vehicles exhaust treatment under low temperature.

Synergetic enhancement of selectivity for electroreduction of CO_(2)to C_(2)H_(4)by crystal facet engineering and tandem catalysis over silver-incorporated-cuprous oxides

Electrochemical CO_(2)reduction to C_(2)H_(4)can provide a sustainable route to reduce globally accelerating CO_(2)emissions and produce energy-rich chemical feedstocks.However,the poor selectivity in C_(2)H_(4)electrosynthesis limits its implementation in industrially interesting processes.Herein,we report a composite structured catalyst composed of Ag and Cu_(2)O with different crystal faces to achieve highly efficient reduction of CO_(2)to C_(2)H_(4).The catalyst composed of Ag and octahedral Cu_(2)O enclosed with(111)facet exhibits the best CO_(2)electroreduction performance,with the Faradaic efficiency(FE)and partial current density reaching 66.8%and 17.8 mA cm2 for C_(2)H_(4)product at-1.2 VRHE in 0.5 M KHCO_(3),respectively.Physical characterization and electrochemical test analysis indicate that the high selectivity for C_(2)H_(4)product stems from the synergistic effect of crystal faces control engineering and tandem catalysis.Specifically,Ag can provide optimal availability of CO intermediate by suppressing hydrogen evolution;subsequently,C-C coupling is promoted on the intimate surface of Cu_(2)O with facetdependent selectivity.The insights gained from this work may be beneficial for designing efficient multicomponent catalysts for improving the selectivity of electrochemical CO_(2)reduction reaction to generate C2þproducts.

Study on methane selective catalytic reduction of NO on Pt/Ce_(0.67)Zr_(0.33)O_2 and its application

Monolithic catalysts of Pt/La-Al2O3 and Pt/Ce0.67Zr0.3302 were prepared to investigate methane selective catalytic reduction （SCR） of NO. The results indicate that Pt/Ce0.67Zr0.33O2 shows high activity and both NO and CH4 can be converted completely at 450℃. Meanwhile, NO and CH4 can be converted completely when there exists excess oxygen. The Pt/Ce0.67Zr0.33O2 catalyst were further investigated by using methane as reducing agent to SCR NO in a novel equipment which combined the CH4 selective catalytic reduction of NO with methane combustion. The result shows that the catalyst is high active and the novel equipment is very effective. The conversion of NO is above 92% under the conditions used in this work. The prepared burner and catalysts have great potential for application.

TiO_2-Supported Binary Metal Oxide Catalysts for Low-temperature Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO_x with NH_3

Binary metal oxide（MnOx-A/TiO2）catalysts were prepared by adding the second metal to manganese oxides supported on titanium dioxide（TiO2）,where,A indicates Fe2O3,WO3,MoO3,and Cr2O3.Their catalytic activity,N2 selectivity,and SO2 poisonous tolerance were investigated.The catalytic performance at low temperatures decreased in the following order：Mn-W/TiO2〉Mn-Fe/TiO2〉Mn-Cr/TiO2〉Mn-Mo/TiO2,whereas the N2 selectivity decreased in the order：Mn-Fe/TiO2〉Mn-W/TiO2〉Mn-Mo/TiO2〉Mn-Cr/TiO2.In the presence of 0.01%SO2 and 6%H2O,the NOx conversions in the presence of Mn-W/TiO2,Mn-Fe/TiO2,or Mn-Mo/TiO2 maintain 98.5%,95.8%and 94.2%, respectively,after 8 h at 120°C at GHSV 12600 h？ 1 .As effective promoters,WO3 and Fe2O3 can increase N2 selectivity and the resistance to SO2 of MnOx/TiO2 significantly.The Fourier transform infrared（FTIR）spectra of NH3 over WO3 show the presence of Lewis acid sites.The results suggest that WO3 is the best promoter of MnOx/TiO2,and Mn-W/TiO2 is one of the most active catalysts for the low temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3.

Low-overpotential selective reduction of CO2 to ethanol on electrodeposited CuxAuy nanowire arrays

Direct electrochemical reduction of CO2 to multicarbon products is highly desirable, yet challenging. Here, we present a potentiostatic pulse-electrodeposition of high-aspect-ratio CuxAuy nanowire arrays (NWAs) as high-performance electrocatalysts for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). The surface electronic structure related to the Cu:Au ratio in the CuxAuy NWAs could be facilely modulated by controlling the electrodeposition potential and the as-fabricated CuxAuy NWAs could be directly used as the catalytic electrode for the CO2RR. The morphology of the high-aspect-ratio nanowire array significantly lowers the onset potential of the alcohol formation due to the diffusion-induced enhancement of the local pH and CO concentration near the nanowire surface. Besides, the properly adjusted surface electronic structure of the CuxAuy NWA enables the adsorption of CO and facilitates the subsequent CO reduction to ethanol via the C-C coupling pathway. Owing to the synergistic effect of morphology and electronic structure, the optimized CuxAuy NWA selectively reduces CO2 to ethanol at low potentials of -0.5——0.7 V vs. RHE with a highest Faradaic efficiency of 48%. This work demonstrates the feasibility to optimize the activity and selectivity of the Cu-based electrocatalysts toward multicarbon alcohols for the CO2RR via simultaneous adjustment of the electronic structure and morphology of the catalysts.