Non-thermal plasma synthesis of supported Cu-Mn-Ce mixed oxides catalyst towards highly improved catalytic performance for volatile organic compounds oxidation

Abstract Compared with that of the transition metal mixed oxides pellet catalyst, the catalytic activity of the supported mixed oxides catalyst was significantly reduced, which was limited in practical industrial applications. In this work, supported Cu-Mn-Ce mixed oxides catalysts were prepared by non-thermal plasma. Catalyst characterization result demonstrated that plasma treatment could promote the proportion of oxygen vacancy and enhance the adsorption of VOCs on the surface of catalyst. Meanwhile, plasma treatment process exerted a slight influence on the pore structure and morphological property of the catalyst. Consequently, CMC/SiO2–P exhibited much higher catalytic activity than CMC/SiO2 prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation method. The 15%CMC/SiO2–P catalyst even exhibited a high catalytic activity comparable to that of the supported noble-metal catalyst for the oxidation of the inert hexane. This work provided a novel method for the preparation of the supported transition metal mixed oxides catalyst.