High performance vanadia-anatase nanoparticle catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NO by ammonia

Highly active nanoparticle SCR deNO(x) catalysts composed of amorphous vanadia on crystalline anatase have been prepared by a sol-gel, co-precipitation method using decomposable crystallization seeds. The catalysts were characterized by means of XRPD, TEM/SEM, FT-IR, nitrogen physisorption and NH(3)-TPD. Due to the high-surface area anatase particles, loading of 20 wt% vanadia could be obtained without exceeding monolayer coverage of V(2)O(5). This resulted in unprecedented high deNO(x) SCR activity corresponding to a factor of two compared to an industrial reference and to other V(2)O(5)/TiO(2) catalysts reported in the literature in the examined temperature range of 200-400 degrees C. The catalysts showed very high resistivity towards potassium poisoning maintaining a 15-30 times higher activity than the equally poisoned industrial reference catalyst, upon impregnation by 280 mu mole potassium/g of catalyst. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.