Cu-exchanged Al-rich SSZ-13 zeolite from organotemplate-free synthesis as NH3-SCR catalyst: Effects of Na+ ions on the activity and hydrothermal stability

- Al-rich Cu-SSZ-13 zeolite from organotemplate-free synthesis is a superior NH3-SCR catalyst.
- Na+ ions can enhance hydrothermal stability of Al-rich Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst.
- Na+ ions can enhance low-temperature NH3-SCR activity of Al-rich Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst.
- The catalytic performance of optimized Al-rich Cu-Na-SSZ-13 is comparable to commercial Cu-SSZ-13.

The relatively low activity at lower temperatures and high cost of SSZ-13 zeolite from organotemplate synthesis are two of major problems of presently commercialized Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts for NH3-SCR reaction. Cu-exchanged Al-rich SSZ-13 catalysts with Si/Al = 4 from organotemplate-free synthesis have been prepared, and show superior NH3-SCR performance with NO conversions above 85% at wide-temperature window ranging from 150 to 650 °C. Cu-Na-SSZ-13 catalysts with varied amount of residual Na+ were prepared by partial ion-exchange of as-prepared Al-rich Na-SSZ-13, and it's found that Cu-Na-SSZ-13 catalyst with moderate Na+ content can improve both the low-temperature activity and its hydrothermal stability. 27Al and 1H MAS NMR spectra indicate that residual Na+ can stabilize the framework Al in Al-rich SSZ-13 zeolite. UV-Vis-NIR and H2-TPR spectra demonstrate that Na+ co-cations enhance the reducibility of Cu2+, whereas too much amount of Na+ may result in the formation of CuOx during the hydrothermal treatment, and further decrease the hydrothermal stability of Cu-Na-SSZ-13 catalyst. The optimized organotemplate-free Cu-Na-SSZ-13 with 2.7 wt% Cu and 1.7 wt% Na exhibits almost the same NO conversions as the commercial high-silica Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst at 150-550 °C after 750 and 800 °C hydrothermal aging, and shows promising practical applications.

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