Synergetic effect of Fe decorated MnO2 nanocatalyst application in propane and benzyl alcohol oxidation

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 680; p. 161404
• Main Authors: Rajesh, Rajendiran, Balla, Putrakumar, Rani Mishra, Prativa, Gundeeboyina, Raveendra, Kim, Sungtak, Perupogu, Vijayanand, Arumugam, Natarajan, Almansour, Abdulrahman I., Lassi, Ulla, Seelam, Prem Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 30.01.2025
• Subjects: Oxygen vacancy; Propane oxidation; Shape controlled; α–Fe2O3 decoration; α–MnO2 nanorods; α–Fe2O3 decoration; Shape controlled; α–MnO2 nanorods; Propane oxidation; Oxygen vacancy
• ISSN: 0169-4332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2024.161404

[Display omitted] •α–Fe2O3 NPs decorated over MnO2 nanorods surface (Fe/MnO2NRs).•Fe in MnO2NRs promotes SMSI and thus, increases the reducibility of Mn4+ to Mn3+.•Surface adsorbed oxygen (Oads.) enhanced the oxidation activity.•Optimal 10 wt% Fe/MnO2NRs exhibited the highest catalytic activity. In heterogeneous catalysis, one of the key challenges is to develop inexpensive and abundant materials. Herein, spherically shaped α–Fe2O3 nanoparticles decorated over MnO2 nanorods surface (Fe/MnO2NRs) was synthesized via hydrothermal followed by co–precipitation methods. Experimental results indicated that the inclusion of Fe in MnO2NRs promotes a strong interaction that increases the reducibility of Mn4+ to Mn3+ and surface adsorbed oxygen (Oads.), which in turn increases the activation of surface oxygen on MnO2NRs. The 10 wt% Fe–loaded catalyst (10Fe/MnO2NRs) exhibited the highest catalytic activity. It was observed that oxidizing 10 % (T10), 50 % (T50), and 90 % (T90) of propane required temperatures of 140 °C, 180 °C, and 220 °C, respectively. This catalyst showed stability in H2O atmospheres and apparent activation energy as low as 52.54 kJ mol−1. In addition, the vapour phase oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BnOH) over different Fe–loaded MnO2NRs catalysts is investigated. The rate of BnOH oxidation over 10Fe/MnO2NRs catalyst is 1.71 times greater than bare MnO2NRs at 240 °C. The increased oxygen vacancies can improve the oxidation activity of propane and BnOH by facilitating the adsorption and activation of O2 to produce reactive oxygen species. This work offers a novel approach to increase manganese oxides surface oxygen activity, which can be used to create efficient catalysts for the low–temperature decomposition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other organic functional group transformations via oxidation reaction.