title: Highly active Pd-In/mesoporous alumina catalyst for nitrate reduction.
abstract: The catalytic reduction of nitrate is a promising technology for groundwater purification because it transforms nitrate into nitrogen and water. Recent studies have mainly focused on new catalysts with higher activities for the reduction of nitrate. Consequently, metal nanoparticles supported on mesoporous metal oxides have become a major research direction. However, the complex surface chemistry and porous structures of mesoporous metal oxides lead to a non-uniform distribution of metal nanoparticles, thereby resulting in a low catalytic efficiency. In this paper, a method for synthesizing the sustainable nitrate reduction catalyst Pd-In/Al2O3 with a dimensional structure is introduced. The TEM results indicated that Pd and In nanoparticles could efficiently disperse into the mesopores of the alumina. At room temperature in CO2-buffered water and under continuous H2 as the electron donor, the synthesized material (4.9 wt% Pd) was the most active at a Pd-In ratio of 4, with a first-order rate constant (k(obs) = 0.241 L min(-1) g(cata)(-1)) that was 1.3× higher than that of conventional Pd-In/Al2O3 (5 wt% Pd; 0.19 L min(-1) g(cata)(-1)). The Pd-In/mesoporous alumina is a promising catalyst for improving the catalytic reduction of nitrate.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Zhenwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Yonggang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Deyi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 301 East Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Charles J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Werth
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: zhangyalei2003@163.com.
authors.forename: Yalei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: zhouxuefei@tongji.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xuefei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D007204:Indium / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D009566:Nitrates / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010165:Palladium / Q000737:chemistry*; D011205:Povidone / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009566:Nitrates; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D007204:Indium; D010165:Palladium; D011205:Povidone; D000537:Aluminum Oxide
keywords: Kinetics; Mesoporous catalyst; Nitrate reduction; Palladium–indium