Decomposition of high-level ozone under high humidity over Mn–Fe catalyst: The influence of iron precursors

•Mn–Fe oxide catalysts showed excellent catalytic ozone decomposition activity.•MnFe0.5Ox from Fe(NO3)3 precursor exhibited the best catalytic performance.•Surface-active Mn2 + and Mn3 + were responsible for the high catalytic activity.

Manganese–iron mixed oxide, an efficient and stable catalyst, has been successfully used in the decomposition of ozone. The influence of different iron precursors on the catalytic decomposition activity of high-level ozone under high-humidity over manganese–iron catalysts prepared using a hydrothermal approach was studied. The catalytic performance over MnFe0.5Ox–Fe(NO3)3 was much better than that of MnFe0.5Ox–FeSO4 and MnFe0.5Ox–FeCl3. From the results of characterization by N2 physical adsorption, XRD, XPS and SEM, it was concluded that the largest specific surface area, the lowest crystallinity, the most evenly distributed particle size and the most surface-active Mn2 + and Mn3 + led to the best catalytic activity for the MnFe0.5Ox–Fe(NO3)3 catalyst.