Synthesis of ordered mesoporous manganese titanium composite oxide catalyst for catalytic ozonation

In this account, highly ordered mesoporous MnO_x/TiO₂ composite catalysts with efficient catalytic ozonation of phenol degradation were synthesized by the sol–gel method. The surface morphology and properties of the catalysts were characterized by several analytical methods, including SEM, TEM, BET, XRD, FTIR, and XPS. Interestingly, Mn doping was found to improve the degree of order, and the ordered mesoporous structure was optimized at 3% doping. Meanwhile, MnO_x was highly dispersed in the ordered mesoporous materials to yield good catalytic ozonation performance. Phenol could completely be degraded in 20 min and mineralized at 79% in 60 min. Thus, the catalyst greatly improved the efficiency of degradation and mineralization of phenol when compared to single O₃ or O₃ + TiO₂. Finally, the reaction mechanism of the catalyst was discussed and found to conform to pseudo-first-order reaction dynamics.