Elimination of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds on Au/SBA-15 Catalysts: Insights into the Nature, Size, and Dispersion of the Active Sites and Reaction Mechanism

Gold catalysts, with different particle sizes ranging from 19 to 556 Å, and supported on SBA-15 mesoporous silica, were prepared by using deposition-precipitation, co-precipitation, and impregnation methods. All samples were characterised by TEM, EXAFS, XPS, XRD, CFR (Continuous Flow Reactor), and TPR. The sample which proved to have the highest activity was characterised by TAP (Temporal Analysis of Products) as well. XPS, wide-angle XRD, EXAFS, and H ₂-TPR measurements and data analysis confirmed that gold was present as Au ⁰ only on all samples. The size of the Au nanoparticle was determined from TEM measurements and confirmed through wide-angle XRD measurements. EXAFS measurements showed that as the Au-Au coordination number decreased the Au-Au bond length decreased. TEM data analysis revealed a dispersion range from 58% (for the smallest particle size) to 2% (for the highest particle size). For Au particles’ sized lower that 60 Å, the Au dispersion was determined using a literature correlation between the dispersion and EXAFS Au-Au coordination number, and was in good agreement with the dispersion data obtained from TEM. The Au dispersion decreased as the particle size increased. CFR experiments validated the relationship between the size of the gold particles in a sample and the sample’s catalytic activity towards acetone oxidation. The lowest temperature for the acetone 100% conversion, i.e., 250 °C, was observed over the reduced catalyst sample with the smallest particle size. This sample not only showed the highest catalytic activity towards acetone conversion, but, at the same time, showed high reaction stability, as catalyst lifetime tests, performed for 25 h in a CFR at 270 °C for the as-synthesised sample, and at 220 °C for the reduced sample, have confirmed. TAP (Temporal Analysis of Products) measurements and data analysis confirmed a weak competitive adsorption of acetone and oxygen over the Au/SBA-15 sample. Based on TAP data, a combination of Eley–Rideal and Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanisms for acetone complete oxidation was proposed.