Boosting Benzene’s Ozone Catalytic Oxidation at Mild Temperatures over Highly Dispersed Ag-Doped Mn3O4

Transition metal oxides show high activity while still facing the challenges of low mineralization and poor durability in the ozone catalytic oxidation (OCO) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Improving the oxygen mobility and low-temperature reducibility of transition metal oxides was found to be an effective way to address the above challenges. Here, highly dispersed Ag was added to Mn3O4 via the co-precipitation oxalate route, and the obtained Ag/Mn3O4 exhibited higher mineralization and stability in benzene catalytic ozonation at room temperature. Compared to Mn3O4, the concentration of CO2 formed from benzene oxidation over Ag/Mn3O4 was significantly increased, from 585.4 ppm to 810.9 ppm, while CO generation was greatly suppressed to only one tenth of its original value (194 ppm vs. 19 ppm). In addition, Ag/Mn3O4 exhibited higher catalytic stability than Mn3O4. The introduction of Ag obviously improved the oxygen mobility and low-temperature reducibility of Mn3O4. Moreover, the highly dispersed Ag also promoted the activity of surface oxygen species and the chemisorption of benzene on Mn3O4. The above physicochemical properties contributed to the excellent catalytic performance and durability of Ag/Mn3O4. This research could shed light on the improvement in VOC mineralization via ozone catalytic oxidation.