Catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability of co-precipitation synthesized Mn-Ce mixed oxides for the oxidation of 1,2-dichlorobenzene

Mn-Ce mixed oxides were prepared using a simple, facile, and high yielding co-precipitation method. The effects of the proportion of Mn/Ce and the addition of Fe, Co, Sn on the physical and chemical properties of catalysts have been thoroughly investigated. Several analytical techniques were conducted, namely BET, XRD, SEM, XPS, and H 2 -TPR. Compared with other catalysts, MCFe shows the highest specific surface area of 108.2 m 2 /g and Dp of 7.2 nm. The XRD results indicated that the diffraction peaks were dominated by Mn 2 O 3 , the pyrolusite MnO 2 , and hausmannite Mn 3 O 4 . SEM observations showed nanoparticle and plate-like structures. XPS analysis indicated that there is electron exchange between both Mn 3+ and Mn 4+ as well as Ce 3+ and Ce 4+ which promotes catalytic oxidation. The H 2 -TPR profiles displayed two dominant peaks located around 250 °C and 310 °C. Catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability of co-precipitation synthesized Mn-Ce mixed oxides for the oxidation of 1,2-dichlorobenzene were tested. The selectivity of MCFe towards CO 2 and CO reached 96 % at 270 °C. At 180 °C, MCFe had the optimum stability with a removal efficiency of about 50 %. At last, the main byproducts were identified by GC-MS. Possible reaction paths were proposed. The Mn-Ce mixed oxides catalysts may be a more economical alternative for industrial application.