Defect Engineering on CuMn 2 O 4 Spinel Surface: A New Path to High-Performance Oxidation Catalysts.

Catalytic combustion is an efficient method to eliminate CO and volatile organic compound (VOC) pollutants. CuMnO spinel is a high-performance non-noble metal oxide catalyst for catalytic combustion and has the potential to replace noble metal catalysts. In order to further improve the catalytic activity of CuMnO spinel, we propose a simple and low-cost approach to introduce numerous oxygen and metal vacancies simultaneously in situ on the CuMnO spinel surface for the catalytic combustion of CO and VOCs. Alkali treatment was used to generate oxygen vacancies (V), copper vacancies (V), and novel active sites (V combines with MnO at the interface between MnO(222) and CuMnO(311)) on the CuMnO spinel surface. In the catalytic combustion of CO and VOCs, the vacancies and new active sites showed high activity and stability. The oxidation rate of CO increased by 4.13 times at 160 °C, and that of toluene increased by 11.63 times at 250 °C. Oxygen is easier to adsorb and dissociate on V and novel sites, and the dissociated oxygen also more easily participates in the oxidation reaction. Furthermore, the lattice oxygen at V more readily participates in the oxidation reaction. This strategy is beneficial for the development of defect engineering on spinel surfaces and provides a new idea for improving the catalytic combustion activity of CuMnO spinel.