Preparation of nanosized Mn3O4/SBA-15 catalyst for complete oxidation of low concentration EtOH in aqueous solution with H2O2

A new heterogeneous Fenton-like system consisting of nano-composite Mn₃O₄/SBA-15 catalyst has been developed for the complete oxidation of low concentration ethanol (100 ppm) by H₂O₂ in aqueous solution. A novel preparation method has been developed to synthesize nanoparticles of Mn₃O₄ by thermolysis of manganese (II) acetylacetonate on SBA-15. Mn₃O₄/SBA-15 was characterized by various techniques like TEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy and N₂ adsorption isotherms. TEM images demonstrate that Mn₃O₄ nanocrystals located mainly inside the SBA-15 pores. The reaction rate for ethanol oxidation can be strongly affected by several factors, including reaction temperature, pH value, catalyst/solution ratio and concentration of ethanol. A plausible reaction mechanism has been proposed in order to explain the kinetic data. The rate for the reaction is supposed to associate with the concentration of intermediates (radicals: OH, O₂^? and HO₂) that are derived from the decomposition of H₂O₂ during reaction. The complete oxidation of ethanol can be remarkably improved only under the circumstances: (i) the intermediates are stabilized, such as stronger acidic conditions and high temperature or (ii) scavenging those radicals is reduced, such as less amount of catalyst and high concentration of reactant. Nevertheless, the reactivity of the presented catalytic system is still lower comparing to the conventional homogenous Fenton process, Fe²⁺/H₂O₂. A possible reason is that the concentration of intermediates in the latter is relatively high.