Catalytic ozonation of CHCl over hollow urchin-like MnO with regulation of active oxygen by catalyst modification and ozone promotion.

This paper firstly reported efficient catalytic ozonation of CHCl (dichloromethane, DCM) at low temperature over hollow urchin-like MnO with high chlorine resistance. Regulations on morphologies and Cu doping, as well as ozone promotion were conducted to optimize active oxygen of MnO catalysts, contributing to excellent catalytic behaviors. Cu doping MnO with hollow urchin-like morphology attained a stable 100% DCM conversion with O/DCM molar ratio of 10 at 120 °C. The ozone utilization rate, final products, and byproducts distribution were discussed. Abundant crystal defects, low-valance Mn/Cu, O, and weak acidity, as well as better low temperature reducibility contributed to its superior performance. During DCM catalytic ozonation, DCM oxidation exhibited competitive effect on O decomposition due to the occupation of intermediates (CHClO·, O-CHCl, and O-CH -O) over active sites that should belong to O originally. Nevertheless, O decomposition exhibited synergistic effects on DCM oxidation with promotion on active oxygen. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed the positive effect on oxygen vacancy formation and O/DCM adsorption from Cu doping. The possible mechanism for DCM catalytic ozonation included four parts, including O/DCM adsorption, O activation, DCM oxidation, and electron replenishment. This paper provides new insight for catalytic elimination of chlorinated alkanes at mild conditions.