Co-Exchange of Mn: A Simple Method to Improve Both the Hydrothermal Stability and Activity of Cu-SSZ-13 NH3-SCR Catalysts

A series of Cu-Mn-SSZ-13 catalysts were obtained by co-exchange of Mn and Cu into SSZ-13 together (ion exchange under a mixed solution of Cu(NO3)(2) and Mn(NO3)(2)) and compared with Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts on the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitric oxide (NO) by ammonia. The effects of total ion exchange degree and the effect of Mn species on the structure and performance of catalysts before and after hydrothermal aging were studied. All fresh and aged catalysts were characterized with several methods including temperature-programmed desorption with NH3 (NH3-TPD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Al-27 and Si-29 solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and low-temperature N-2 adsorption-desorption techniques. The results showed that the increase of the total ion exchange degree can reduce the content of residual BrOnsted acid sites of catalysts, thus relieved the dealumination and the decrease of crystallinity of the catalyst during hydrothermal aging. The moderate addition of a Mn component in Cu-Mn-SSZ-13 catalysts significantly increased the activity of NO conversion at low temperature range. The selected Cu(0.2)Mn(0.1)-SSZ-13 catalyst achieved a high NO conversion of >90% in the wide and low temperature range of 175-525 degrees C and also exhibited good N-2 selectivity and excellent hydrothermal stability, which was related to the inhibition of the Mn component on the aggregation of Cu species and the pore destruction of the catalyst during hydrothermal aging.