Rod-, flower-, and dumbbell-like MnO2: Highly active catalysts for the combustion of toluene Original Research Article

The rod-like tetragonal α-MnO2, flower-like hexagonal ɛ-MnO2, and dumbbell-like tetragonal β-MnO2 were prepared using the hydrothermal or water-bathing method under different conditions. It is shown that the α-MnO2, ɛ-MnO2, and β-MnO2 catalysts possessed a surface area of ca. 53, 30, and 114 m2/g, respectively. The oxygen adspecies concentration and low-temperature reducibility decreased in the order of α-MnO2 > ɛ-MnO2 > β-MnO2, coinciding with the sequence of their catalytic activities for toluene combustion. The well-defined morphological MnO2 catalysts performed much better than the bulk counterpart. At a space velocity of 20,000 mL/(g h), the temperature for 90% toluene conversion was 238, 229, and 241 °C over α-MnO2, ɛ-MnO2, and β-MnO2, respectively. The apparent activation energies of α-MnO2, ɛ-MnO2, and β-MnO2 were in the range of 20–26 kJ/mol. It is concluded that higher oxygen adspecies concentrations and better low-temperature reducibility were responsible for the good catalytic performance of the α-MnO2, ɛ-MnO2, and β-MnO2 materials.