Promotional Effect of Gadolinia on CuO Catalyst for Reduction of NO by Activated Carbon

The Gd2O3 (gadolinia) modified CuO/AC catalysts for NO reduction by activated carbon were prepared and characterized by XRD, TPD-MS, EPR, XPS techniques. The results show that adding a small amount of Gd2O3 in the CuO catalyst can improve effectively its catalytic performance for NO reduction by activated carbon, and the appropriate molar ratio of Gd2O3/CuO is 0.03:1. The promotional effect of Gd2O3 stems from the cooperative effects between CuO and Gd2O3. The presence of Gd2O3 in the catalyst can alter the chemical state and environment of the CuO active sites and improve the catalytic activation of carbon by CuO to form more carbon reactive sites, resulting in the quicker transfer and release of oxygen decomposed from NO. The carboxylic groups on the surface of activated carbon play an important role in the catalytic reduction of NO by carbon at temperature below 300 °C.