Catalytic Decomposition of Toxic Chemicals over Metal-Promoted Carbon Nanotubes

Effective decomposition of toxic gaseous compounds is important for pollution control at many chemical manufacturing plants. This study explores catalytic decomposition of phosphine (PH3) using novel metal-promoted carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The cerium-promoted Co/CNTs catalysts (CoCe/CNTs) are synthesized by means of coimpregnation method and reduced by three different methods (H2, KBH4, NaH2PO2·H2O/KBH4). The morphology, structure, and composition of the catalysts are characterized using a number of analytical instrumentations including high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, BET surface area measurement, and inductively coupled plasma. The activity of the catalysts in PH3 decomposition reaction is measured and correlated with their surface and structural properties. The characterization results show that the CoCe/CNTs catalyst reduced by H2 possesses small particles and is shown thermally stable in PH3 decomposition reaction. The activities o...