Ozone-Assisted Catalysis of Toluene with Layered ZSM-5 and Ag/ZSM-5 Zeolites

This paper presents a new type of ozone-assisted catalysis for toluene decomposition. The different catalytic activities of ZSM-5 and Ag/ZSM-5 were incorporated into a layered catalyst with a tandem configuration. Instead of increasing the amount of metal catalyst, the layered catalyst was formed, which had an equal amount of bare ZSM-5 and Ag/ZSM-5 and could achieve both high toluene conversion and CO₂ selectivity concurrently. The properties of each catalyst were evaluated with respect to toluene conversion, formation of intermediates, CO₂ selectivity and ozone demand factor. The bare ZSM-5 exhibited higher toluene conversion than the Ag/ZSM-5, while its activity toward deep oxidation was limited. However, the Ag/ZSM-5 was found to be effective for the deep oxidation of reaction intermediates (HCOOH and CO). Separate oxidation tests with HCOOH and CO revealed that the ZSM-5-supported Ag nanoparticles could oxidize the HCOOH and CO in the absence of ozone, which was not possible with the bare ZSM-5. Plausible pathways for the oxidation of toluene with O₃ over ZSM-5 and Ag/ZSM-5 were proposed based on the experimental evidence.