Ce doping effect on performance of the Fe/β catalyst for NOx reduction by NH3

• The Ce doping has effectively improved the deNOx performance of the Fe/β catalyst for NH3-SCR.
• The presence of Ce stabilizes iron species dispersion and restrains the formation of bulky Fe2O3.
• The hydrothermal stability of the Ce–Fe/β catalyst is enhanced.
• The addition of Ce enhances the resistance to SO2 over Fe/β.

The Ce doping Fe/β catalysts were prepared by an easy incipient wetness impregnation method and characterized using various analytical techniques, including H2-TPR, XRD, UV–vis and XPS. The results demonstrated that the addition of cerium effectively improved the deNOx performance, hydrothermal stability and SO2 resistance of the Fe/β catalyst for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx by NH3. The finely dispersed iron oxide nanoparticles on the surface of Ce–Fe/β catalysts and the compensative effect of cerium are dominating reasons for high catalytic performance. The Ce doping enhanced the hydrothermal stability of the Fe/β catalyst because it could control the growth of iron oxides and stabilize the dispersed iron species. Suppressing the deposition of sulfates by Ce addition made the Fe/β catalyst a great SO2 tolerance. It was speculated that the outstanding performance of Ce doping Fe/β catalysts made them attractive for practical application.