A Transient-Response methodology based on experiments and modeling for Cu-Redox Half-Cycle kinetic analysis on a Cu-SSZ-13 SCR catalyst

The Standard SCR reaction catalyzed by Cu-SSZ-13 is a redox process consisting of a reduction half cycle (RHC) and an oxidation half cycle (OHC) that cycle the active Cu sites between the Cu(II) and Cu(I) states. In the current work, a transient-response methodology consisting of experimental transient response Cu-redox (TRCR) measurements and kinetic modeling was developed for detailed study of individual SCR Cu-redox half cycles. The TRCR protocol allows quantification of the reducible Cu density, Cu(II)-Cu(I) partitioning, relative native RHC and OHC rates, and limiting half cycle during SCR. The half-cycle kinetics are studied over a wide (170–450 °C) temperature, and in differential segments along the catalyst length using spatially resolved capillary inlet mass-spectrometry (SpaciMS). The protocol alone provides two independent measures indicating that OHC increases faster than RHC with temperature, and that at all but the lowest temperature SCR is RHC limited. Introducing the transient kinetic models allows half-cycle reaction pathways, orders and activation energies to be studied and determined; e.g., RHC involves surface and gas-phase NH₃ routes, and OHC with O₂ involves dimer formation. Application of the full methodology provides further confirmation and quantification of the protocol conclusions, and specifically the first measurements of RHC and OHC activation energies; specifically for parallel RHC surface and gas-phase routes, and experimentally obtained OHC activation energy vs. first-principle calculations in the literature. Beyond insights related to the degreened catalyst studied here, the methodology provides a broadly available approach for quantifying how aging processes selectively impact RHC and OHC.