Defect-based Lewis pairs on hydrophobic MnO mesocrystals for robust and efficient ozone decomposition.

Yang, Jingling; Yi, Ziran; Li, Jialin; Dong, Haojie; Zhai, Chunyang; Ding, Tengda; Zhou, Yingtang; Zhu, Mingshan · Nat Commun · 2025

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Catalytic ozone decomposition is a promising technique for eliminating ozone from the environment. However, developing redox-active catalysts that efficiently decompose ozone while maintaining robust performance under high humidity remains challenging. Herein, we develop a hydrophobic carbon-coated mesocrystalline MnO (Meso-MnO@C) featuring a high density of manganese vacancies (V<sub>Mn</sub>)-based Lewis pairs (LPs) for catalytic ozone decomposition. The presence of V<sub>Mn</sub> induces the electronic restructuring in MnO, leading to the formation of V<sub>Mn</sub>-Mn acidic sites and adjacent lattice oxygen atoms as basic sites. These LPs act as electron donors and acceptors, facilitating rapid electron transfer and lowering the energy barrier for O<sub>3</sub> conversion to O<sub>2</sub>. The hydrophobic carbon layer protects against water accumulation on Meso-MnO@C in humid conditions. As a result, the Meso-MnO@C achieves nearly 100% O<sub>3</sub> decomposition at a high weight hourly space velocity of 1500 L⋅g<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup>, with rapid reaction kinetics and stable performance for 100 hours under 65% relative humidity.