Work

Macroporous manganese–cerium oxides boost ozone utilization and mineralization through metal–oxygen bridges

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Catalytic ozonation is often limited by inefficient ozone utilization at gas–liquid–solid interfaces and sluggish mineralization of refractory oxidation intermediates. Here, we report a facile and potentially scalable molecular foaming strategy to construct macroporous Mn–Ce binary oxides (HP-MnCeO) that integrate interconnected diffusion pathways with coupled Mn 2+ /Mn 3+ /Mn 4+ and Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ redox cycles. The optimized HP-70MnCeO exhibited enhanced deep oxidation capability, achieving 68% total organic carbon removal during carbamazepine ozonation, while only moderately accelerating parent compound degradation compared with ozonation alone. Compared with mesoporous counterparts, HP-70MnCeO delivered a 1.7-fold higher apparent reaction rate and promoted more efficient transformation of refractory intermediates, despite its lower surface area. It also accelerated ozone decomposition by 6–12 times compared with single-metal oxides, demonstrating improved ozone activation and utilization. Finite element simulations indicate that macropores enhance O 3 and pollutant transport, while density functional theory suggests preferential O 3 adsorption at Mn–Ce bridge sites. HP-70MnCeO maintained stable activity with negligible Mn leaching (0.01 mg/L) during cycling tests and enabled continuous-flow treatment of real wastewater. This work provides a strategy for designing macroporous multimetal oxide catalysts with enhanced mineralization efficiency for practical ozone-based water purification.

Source: npj Clean Water