Promotion Mechanism of CaSO 4 and Au in the Plasma-Assisted Catalytic Oxidation of Diesel Particulate Matter.

Plasma-assisted catalysis has been demonstrated to be an innovative technology for eliminating diesel particulate matter (DPM) efficiently at low temperature (≤200 °C). Moreover, past studies have demonstrated that CaSO 4 , which exists in small concentrations (<2%) in DPM and is toxic in thermal catalytic oxidation processes, actually enhances DPM oxidation during plasma-assisted catalytic processes. However, the role CaSO 4 plays in this promotion of DPM oxidation still remains unclear. The present study addresses this issue by investigating the underlying mechanisms of DPM oxidation during plasma-assisted catalytic processes using graphitic carbon as a surrogate DPM material in conjunction with CaSO 4 - and Au-impregnated γ-Al 2 O 3 catalysts. The results of mass spectrometry and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, which employs an in situ cell with a small dielectric barrier discharge space over the catalyst bed, demonstrate that CaSO 4 can save and release O atoms contributing to graphite oxidation via the -S=O units of CaSO 4 through a reversible surface reaction (-S=O + O → -S(-O) 2 ). The results are employed to propose a formal mechanism of graphite oxidation catalyzed by CaSO 4 and Au. These findings both improve our understanding of the plasma-assisted catalytic oxidation mechanisms of DPM and support the development of efficient plasma-assisted catalysts.