Catalytic oxidation of benzene with ozone over nanoporous Mn/MCM-48 catalyst

The catalytic oxidation of a representative volatile organic compound, benzene, with ozone at a low temperature was investigated. A nanoporous MCM-48 material with a high specific surface area was used as the support for the catalytic oxidation for the first time. Mn, which has high activity at a low temperature, was used as the metal catalyst. To examine the effect of the Mn precursor, MCM-48 was impregnated with two different Mn precursors: Mn acetate and Mn nitrate. The characteristics of the synthesized catalysts were analyzed by Brunauer Emmett Teller surface area, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed reduction. MCM-48 impregnated with Mn acetate showed higher catalytic activity than MCM-48 impregnated with Mn nitrate. This result was attributed to the better dispersion within nanoporous MCM-48 and higher oxygen mobility of Mn oxides produced by Mn acetate. The catalytic activity was also shown to depend closely on the ozone concentration.