Influence of active metal phase distribution on macrostructured catalysts for inorganic contaminants reduction

The development and application of macrostructured catalysts for environmental remediation processes is a key step toward the sustainability of multi-phase environmental systems, such as catalytic reduction of inorganic species; however, the more established techniques for the synthesis of macrostructured do not allow to take advantage of the advances in the mechano-chemical modification of carbon nanotubes, which are not applicable to in-situ grown materials. The present work aims to present a novel methodology for the synthesis of macrostructured catalysts, through washcoating of a pre-formed powder material. Bimetallic macrostructured catalysts were synthesized through washcoating methodology and were tested on their efficiency in performing nitrate selective conversion, and the obtained results were compared with the ones obtained with more conventional methodologies. Significant differences in conversion were registered for both methodologies mainly due to the differences registered in the metal phase distribution achieved with the two different techniques studied. Also, the different deposition methods of the metal phase of the catalyst would allow obtaining significant differences in the catalyst conversion and selectivity, making this study an essential step toward the understanding and design of macrostructured metallic catalysts.