Roles of surface nitrogen oxides in propene activation and NO reduction on Ag/Al2O3

The activation of propene in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO on 4% Ag/Al₂O₃ has been studied by in situ infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Distinctive propene activation products were detected in the SCR of NO, depending on the nature of surface oxygen and nitrogen oxide species on Ag/Al₂O₃. C₃H₆ was oxidized to acetate species in an O₂ + C₃H₆ atmosphere on Ag/Al₂O₃ above 573 K. The addition of NO to the C₃H₆ + O₂ feed gas suppressed the formation of acetate species but increased the proportion of acrylate species. Acrylate species were further confirmed to be formed preferentially from C₃H₆ oxidation without the O₂ atmosphere on Ag/Al₂O₃ or nitrate-adsorbed Ag/Al₂O₃. On the other hand, adsorption of NO led to the formation of nitrito species on Ag/Al₂O₃, but the nitrito was barely oxidized to nitrate species unless there was an O₂ atmosphere at 473–673 K. Thus, the oxidation of propene to acetate species, or the formation of nitrate from nitrito, is attributed to two competitive electrophilic reactions. The formation of nitrate from nitrito species decreased electrophilic oxygen species that oxidized propene to acetate. Nevertheless, the first dehydrogenation of propene to form acrylate species on nitrate-adsorbed Ag/Al₂O₃ is a nucleophilic reaction, as it is on Ag/Al₂O₃. Furthermore, there was no decrease in reaction activity for formation of acrylate species on nitrate-adsorbed Ag/Al₂O₃ compared to Ag/Al₂O₃. This led to the total reaction occurring easily through the propene nucleophilic oxidation branch because the presence of the adsorbed nitrogen oxides changed selectively the formation rates of the surface reductants. IR spectra data further demonstrate that acrylate and acetate species, as the surface reductants, reacted with nitrate to generate isocyanate intermediates in the SCR of NO. The effect of structures of different reductants on NO reduction is discussed.