Synthesis and Characterization of New Material--La/Zr/MMT Employed in Acetone Oxidation

A new material of zirconium pillared montmorillonite added with lanthanum (denoted as La/Zr/MMT) was prepared for acetone oxidation. Surface properties of the catalysts were investigated by means of XRD, TEM, TG-DTA and BET methods. The XRD result indicated that the interlayer space of the montmorillonite was enlarged from 1.57 to 4.85 nm after the treatment with zirconium pillaring and the addition of lanthanum. N₂ adsorption-desorption result showed that by the process of zirconium pillaring, the specific surface area of the sample was increased to 128.0 m²/g, which was two times almost as large as pure montmorillonite. Simultaneously, the thermal stability was also enhanced. The activity of the new material on the total oxidation of acetone was investigated, and the results indicated that the catalytic activity of the montmorillonite was greatly improved. Over the sample of La/Zr/MMT, the T₉₈ of acetone was obtained at 350 °C, while it needs 400 °C over the pure montmorillonite. After 0.1% Pd was supported on the sample of La/Zr/MMT, the T₉₈ decreased from 350 to 280 °C, indicating the montmorillonite is a promising material for the control of some types of the volatile organic compounds such as acetone.