Application of polyol process to prepare AC-supported nanocatalyst for VOC oxidation

The purposes of this study were to prepare a transition-metal catalyst by the polyol method, and subsequently to evaluate the feasibility of the catalytic incineration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Activated carbon (AC) was selected as the support material, and copper, cobalt, iron, and nickel were used as the catalytic active phases. The catalyst was characterized by UV-vis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, X-ray powder diffractometer (XRPD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The catalysts prepared by the polyol process exhibited well-dispersed nanoscale metal particles. Increases in the reduction time and in the particle size led to a lower toluene conversion. The activity of metal/AC with respect to metal was observed to follow a particular order: Cu > Co > Fe > Ni. Increasing the reaction temperature and decreasing the toluene concentration and space velocity resulted in better VOC conversion. The activity of Cu/AC with respect to the VOC molecule was observed to follow the following sequence: xylene > toluene > benzene. The results indicated that the polyol process could successfully be used to manufacture nanocatalysts that could be applied to eliminate VOCs by catalytic incineration.