Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals that have low boiling point and thus, high vapor pressure at room temperature. Major sources of VOCs are fuel combustion, industrial emission, indoor decoration and so on. With exposure to some toxic VOCs, one may encounter such health effects as sensory irritations, headache, dizziness and even damage to body apparatus. Catalytic oxidation is the most common approach to remove VOCs completely. However, complete removal of some VOCs (toluene, o-xylene, etc.) requires high temperature (ca. 250°C).

This work firstly describes the preparation and characterization of pure graphene and silica aerogel. Then, aerogel-supported noble metal and transitional metal oxide nanoparticles are prepared and evaluated by toluene catalytic o...[ Read more ]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals that have low boiling point and thus, high vapor pressure at room temperature. Major sources of VOCs are fuel combustion, industrial emission, indoor decoration and so on. With exposure to some toxic VOCs, one may encounter such health effects as sensory irritations, headache, dizziness and even damage to body apparatus. Catalytic oxidation is the most common approach to remove VOCs completely. However, complete removal of some VOCs (toluene, o-xylene, etc.) requires high temperature (ca. 250°C).

This work firstly describes the preparation and characterization of pure graphene and silica aerogel. Then, aerogel-supported noble metal and transitional metal oxide nanoparticles are prepared and evaluated by toluene catalytic oxidation test. Catalytic active nanoparticles such as platinum and ceria were incorporated in the graphene and silica aerogels and efficient complete oxidation of toluene at relatively low temperature (ca. 180°C-220°C) is achieved. An implement example for toluene removal by utilizing the monolithic aerogel-supported catalyst through induction heating reaction system is provided.