Autonomous Improvement in the Catalytic Activity of KVO3/SiC for Soot Oxidation under Practical Gaseous Conditions

The effect of reactant gas composition on the catalytic combustion of soot by KVO3/SiC are investigated. The activity of KVO3-SiC increased by repeating the measurement of temperature-programmed reaction (TPR) under reaction gases containing SO2. SEM and EDX observations showed that only KVO3 was present on the surface of the fresh sample, but a mixture of K2SO4,V2O5 and KVO3 was formed on the used sample, suggesting that during the reaction process the mixed metal oxide change into simple sulfate and oxide which are more stable and catalytically active under practical conditions.