Study on the preparation and characterization of a titanium-pillared clay-supported CrCe catalyst and its application to the degradation of a low concentration of chlorobenzene

•Ti-PILC supported CrCe oxides with large SBET and Vp was synthesized.•Ti-PILC was an excellent carrier with highly dispersed active ingredients.•CrCe(6:1)/Ti-PILC exhibited the highest activity for chlorobenzene degradation.

In the present study, Ti-pillared clay (Ti-PILC) with a large surface area, uniform mesopores and high thermal stability was prepared and used as carrier to support CrCe oxides. Performance of the catalysts in catalytic chlorobenzene degradation was investigated. Ti-PILC had a significantly larger basal space and higher specific surface area and pore volume compared with those of Na-montmorillonite. These improvements accelerated the mass transfer of the gas in the gas–solid reaction, as the gas was transferred through the bigger pores of the catalysts. The porous structure of the carrier remained stable after calcination at 550 °C, and the supported active constituent was evenly dispersed without aggregation, indicating that the material was a class of catalyst well suited for the catalytic degradation of chlorobenzene. Notably, CrCe(6:1)/Ti-PILC enabled the complete degradation of a low concentration of chlorobenzene at approximately 250 °C and displayed outstanding performance compared with other types of catalysts.

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