Catalytic decomposition of N2O on ordered crystalline metal oxides.

The synthesis of mesoporous metal oxides using mesoporous silicas or carbons as hard templates has attracted growing interest recently, but the catalytic application of mesoporous metal oxides has not been studied sufficiently. In addition, few publications have compared the catalytic performance of a series of mesoporous metal oxides in the same reaction, and little is known about the influence of preparation details of mesoporous metal oxides on catalytic activity. Herein, ordered crystalline mesoporous metal oxides (i.e., CeO2, Co3O4, Cr2O3, CuO, alpha-Fe2O3, beta-MnO2, Mn2O3, Mn3O4, NiO) prepared using mesoporous SiO2 (KIT-6) as a hard template were tested in the decomposition of N2O, an environmental pollutant, and the catalytic performance was compared with that of commercial metal oxides with low surface areas. In particular, mesoporous Co3O4, beta-MnO2, and NiO showed high N2O conversions at 350 degrees C. The influence of preparation parameters of mesoporous Co3O4 on catalytic activity was then studied in more detail. Mesoporous Co3O4 samples with different pore sizes and wall thicknesses were prepared using KIT-6 synthesized under different hydrothermal or calcination temperatures. Interestingly, the catalytic activities of different mesoporous Co3O4 samples were found to be influenced by these preparation details.