In situ deposition of 0D CeO quantum dots on FeO-containing solid waste NH-SCR catalyst: Enhancing redox and NH adsorption ability.

As NO has been turning into a crucial environmental problem, NH-SCR technology with relatively simple device, reliable operation and low secondary pollution, has become a widely used commercial and mature de-nitration technology. However, some weaknesses restricted the further application of commercialized VO-WO/TiO NH-SCR catalysts, while FeO-based catalysts have received much attention due to their high thermal stability, passable N selectivity and low cost. In this study, FeO-containing solid waste derived from Zn extraction process of electric arc furnace dust was exploited as the base material for catalyst preparing. Owing to the complementary and synergistic effect of CeO and FeO, 0D CeO quantum dots (CeQDs) with fully-exposed active sites, large specific surface area, and rapid charge transfer have been introduced and deposited onto FeO-containing solid waste nanorods. The in-situ deposition of CeQDs led to the admirable enhancement in NH-SCR catalytic activity, N selectivity and SO tolerance of the extremely low-cost FeO catalyst. Comprehensive characterizations and DFT calculations describing the adsorption of O and NH were applied to analyze the catalyst structure and further investigate the detailed relationship between structural properties and activity as well as reaction mechanism. This work provides new insights for the high-value utilization of iron-containing solid waste and a practical reference for boosting the performance of NH-SCR catalysts by introducing quantum dots.