Effective and mild activation of O_(2) is essential but challenging for aerobic oxidation. In heterogeneous catalysis, high-valence manganese oxide(e.g., +4) is known to be active for the oxidation, whereas divalent M...Effective and mild activation of O_(2) is essential but challenging for aerobic oxidation. In heterogeneous catalysis, high-valence manganese oxide(e.g., +4) is known to be active for the oxidation, whereas divalent MnO is ineffective due to its limited capacity to supply surface oxygen and its thermodynamically unstable structure when binding O_(2) in reaction conditions. Inspired by natural enzymes that rely on divalent Mn^(2+), we discovered that confining Mn^(2+) onto the Mn_(2)O_(3) surface through a dedicated calcination process creates highly active catalysts for the aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, benzyl alcohol, and CO.The Mn_(2)O_(3)-confined Mn^(2+) is undercoordinated and efficiently mediates O_(2) activation, resulting in 2–3 orders of magnitude higher activity than Mn_(2)O_(3) alone. Through low-temperature infrared spectroscopy, we distinguished low-content Mn^(2+) sites at Mn_(2)O_(3) surface, which are difficult to be differentiated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The combination of in-situ energydispersive X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction further provides insights into the formation of the newly identified active Mn^(2+) sites. By optimizing the calcination step, we were able to increase the catalytic activity threefold further.The finding offers promising frontiers for exploring active oxidation catalysts by utilizing the confinement of Mn^(2+)and oftenignored calcination skills.展开更多
基金supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2022YFA1503804)National Natural Science Foundation of China (22272031, 22102033)+1 种基金Science&Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (22ZR1408000, 22QA1401300)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (20720220008)。
文摘Effective and mild activation of O_(2) is essential but challenging for aerobic oxidation. In heterogeneous catalysis, high-valence manganese oxide(e.g., +4) is known to be active for the oxidation, whereas divalent MnO is ineffective due to its limited capacity to supply surface oxygen and its thermodynamically unstable structure when binding O_(2) in reaction conditions. Inspired by natural enzymes that rely on divalent Mn^(2+), we discovered that confining Mn^(2+) onto the Mn_(2)O_(3) surface through a dedicated calcination process creates highly active catalysts for the aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, benzyl alcohol, and CO.The Mn_(2)O_(3)-confined Mn^(2+) is undercoordinated and efficiently mediates O_(2) activation, resulting in 2–3 orders of magnitude higher activity than Mn_(2)O_(3) alone. Through low-temperature infrared spectroscopy, we distinguished low-content Mn^(2+) sites at Mn_(2)O_(3) surface, which are difficult to be differentiated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The combination of in-situ energydispersive X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction further provides insights into the formation of the newly identified active Mn^(2+) sites. By optimizing the calcination step, we were able to increase the catalytic activity threefold further.The finding offers promising frontiers for exploring active oxidation catalysts by utilizing the confinement of Mn^(2+)and oftenignored calcination skills.
