Fe2O3 catalyst doped with MnOx for low-temperature CO oxidation

The development of efficient low-temperature CO catalysts has attracted widespread attention due to the negative impacts of excessive CO emissions from industrial flue gases. In this study, we selected inexpensive Fe2O3 for the catalytic oxidation of CO and enhanced the catalyst's low-temperature activity by incorporating Mn. The activity evaluation results indicated that the nano-particle (NP) morphology of Fe2O3 exhibited higher catalytic activity compared to the bulk (BK) morphology. The addition of Mn significantly improved the catalytic performance of Fe2O3, lowering the temperature for complete CO oxidation by 110 ℃ compared to the Mn-free catalyst. The characterization results indicated a strong interaction between Fe2O3 and MnOx, which was beneficial for the catalytic reaction of CO. The incorporation of Mn increased the lattice oxygen on the catalyst, facilitating electron transfer. Moreover, it was considered that SO2 in the flue gas would inactivate the catalyst, a strategy for the recovery and reutilization of deactivated catalysts was proposed. This work provided a new direction for CO treatment based on a comprehensive consideration of catalytic efficiency and economic cost. © 2025 The Institution of Chemical Engineers