New vanadia-mesoporous catalysts for the oxidation of SO2 in diluted gases

Mesoporous SO2 oxidation catalysts were prepared by impregnation of a sol–gel prepared vanadia-silica support with various amounts of cesium sulfate or mixtures of alkaline sulfate species (Na or K). The resulting catalysts were characterized by adsorption–desorption isotherms of nitrogen at 77 K, in situ evolution of crystallinity by X-ray diffraction, NH3-DRIFT, XPS, transmission electron microscopy, dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Catalytic tests in oxidation of SO2 in diluted gases (1 vol.%) showed that these systems were very active. A dependence on the alkaline metal loading was also evidenced.