Abstract: | • CeO2 doping significantly improved low-temperature NH3-SCR activity on FeTiOx. • The crystallinity of FeTiOx was decreased dramatically after CeO2 doping. • Unique Ce-O-Fe structure in FeCe0.2TiOx accounted for its superior redox property. • Facile activation of NH3 to-NH2 on FeCe0.2TiOx promoted the DeNOx efficiency. FeTiOx has been recognized as an environmental-friendly and cost-effective catalyst for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3. Aimed at further improving the low-temperature DeNOx efficiency of FeTiOx catalyst, a simple strategy of CeO2 doping was proposed. The low-temperature (<250℃) NH3-SCR activity of FeTiOx catalyst could be dramatically enhanced by CeO2 doping, and the optimal composition of the catalyst was confirmed as FeCe0.2TiOx, which performed a NOx conversion of 90% at ca. 200℃. According to X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS) analysis, FeCe0.2TiOx showed low crystallinity, with Fe and Ce species well mixed with each other. Based on the fitting results of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), a unique Ce-O-Fe structure was formed in FeCe0.2TiOx catalyst. The well improved specific surface area and the newly formed Ce-O-Fe structure dramatically contributed to the improvement of the redox property of FeCe0.2TiOx catalyst, which was well confirmed by H2-temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) and in situ XAFS experiments. Such enhanced redox capability could benefit the activation of NO and NH3 at low temperatures for NOx removal. The detailed reaction mechanism study further suggested that the facile oxidative dehydrogenation of NH3 to highly reactive-NH2 played a key role in enhancing the low-temperature NH3-SCR performance of FeCe0.2TiOx catalyst. |