Unveiling the effect of Al₂O₃ on PbCl₂ resistance over Mn-Ce/AC catalyst for low-temperature NH₃-SCR of NO

Background: Lead salts, as a heavy metal species, caused serious damage for the activity and operation lifetime of SCR catalysts. Methods: Al-decorated Mn-Ce/AC catalyst was synthesized using the impregnation method to investigate the anti-Pb poisoning ability of Al₂O₃ on Mn-Ce/AC catalyst. Significant Findings: The addition of Al expressed a significant promotion on activity of MC/AC catalyst in both fresh and poisoned states. XRD analysis confirmed that Al oxide confined the crystallization of active MnO₂ over the poisoned catalysts, contributing to the dispersion of components. From the morphology, Al doping increased the aggregation of PbCl₂, which released more active sites and further restrained the negative effect of PbCl₂. More abundant of Mn⁴⁺ and surface oxygen with adding Al was in favor of the redox circle and the activation of reactants. The enhanced surface acidity and redox property served as the chemical motivations for the anti-PbCl₂ ability of catalysts. In situ DRIFTS demonstrated that all catalysts followed both E-R and L-H pathways, and the E-R played a dominant role in the reaction activity. PbCl₂ did not change the reaction pathways but made the reaction more difficult to happen. Finally, a possible mechanism model of Al₂O₃ on PbCl₂ resistance over MC/AC catalyst was proposed.