Polymeric vanadyl species determine the low-temperature activity of V-based catalysts for the SCR of NO x with NH3.

The structure of dispersed vanadyl species plays a crucial role in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH3 over vanadia-based catalysts. Here, we demonstrate that the polymeric vanadyl species have a markedly higher NH3-SCR activity than the monomeric vanadyl species. The coupling effect of the polymeric structure not only shortens the reaction pathway for the regeneration of redox sites but also substantially reduces the overall reaction barrier of the catalytic cycle. Therefore, it is the polymeric vanadyl species, rather than the monomeric vanadyl species, that determine the NH3-SCR activity of vanadia-based catalysts, especially under low-temperature conditions. The polymeric vanadia-based SCR mechanism reported here advances the understanding of the working principle of vanadia-based catalysts and paves the way toward the development of low vanadium-loading SCR catalysts with excellent low-temperature activity.