Copper doped BaMnO3 perovskite catalysts for NO oxidation and NO2-assisted diesel soot removal

The activity for NO oxidation and for NO2-assisted diesel soot removal of a BaMn1−xCuxO3 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) perovskite-type catalyst has been tested by Temperature Programmed Reaction (TPR) and isothermal experiments at 450 °C. Fresh and used catalyst characterization by ICP-OES, N2 adsorption, XRD, XPS, IR spectroscopy and H2-TPR was performed. Results showed that: (i) manganese is partially substituted by copper in the perovskite structure leading to the formation of a manganese-deficient perovskite with a new hexagonal structure, (ii) in BaMn1−xCuxO3 catalysts, manganese seems to be mainly Mn(III) and, as a consequence, the amount of oxygen vacancies increases gradually with the copper content and (iii) the presence of copper into the perovskite structure enhances the reducibility of the catalyst and increases the mobility of lattice oxygen. BaMn0.7Cu0.3O3 is the most active catalyst for NO2 generation and, consequently, shows the lowest T50% value, the highest CO2 selectivity, the best performance during TPR cyclic experiments, and the highest soot oxidation rate at 450 °C. This behavior is a result of the enhancement of the redox properties of the catalyst due to the replacement of Mn(III)/Mn(IV) by Cu(II) in the perovskite structure.