O-vacancy-rich porous MnO2 nanosheets as highly efficient catalysts for propane catalytic oxidation

Constructing non-noble robust catalysts for deep catalytic oxidation of obstinate light alkanes at low temperature is of great value and significance. Herein, we designed a facile solvent-thermal-reduction strategy to fabricate an O-vacancy-rich porous MnO2 nanosheet (MnO2−PS) catalyst for propane catalytic oxidation. The abundant vacancies in MnO2−PS catalysts can significantly promote its redox ability and oxygen activation capacity, and then provide more active oxygen species with enhanced oxygen mobility and reactivity, thus accelerate the cleavage of C-H bond and the decomposition of intermediates. Meanwhile, benefiting from the porous nanosheet structure, MnO2−PS catalyst possesses highly accessible surface and high density of exposed active sites, thus facilitating the adsorption and the activation of reactant molecule. At the same time, the catalyst also exhibits good thermal stability and water resistant ability. This robust and efficient catalytic system may provide some enlightenments for designing feasible catalyst with high-performance for deep catalytic destruction of VOCs. [Display omitted] •O-vacancy-rich porous MnO2 nanosheets (MnO2–PS) catalyst were fabricated through a facile method.•High catalytic performance of propane catalytic oxidation on MnO2–PS catalyst was achieved.•The MnO2–PS with abundant vacancies exhibits higher density of exposed active sites, higher redox ability and oxygen mobility.