Impact of Accelerated Hydrothermal Aging on Structure and Performance of Cu-SSZ-13 SCR Catalysts

In this contribution, nuanced changes of a commercial Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst with hydrothermal aging, which have not been previously reported, as well as their corresponding impact on SCR functions, are described. In particular, a sample of Cu-SSZ-13 was progressively aged between 550 to 900°C and the changes of performance in NH₃ storage, oxidation functionality and NOx conversion of the catalyst were measured after hydrothermal exposure at each temperature. The catalysts thus aged were further characterized by NH₃-TPD, XRD and DRIFTS techniques for structural changes. Based on the corresponding performance and structural characteristics, three different regimes of hydrothermal aging were identified, and tentatively as assigned to “mild”, “severe” and “extreme” aging. Progressive hydrothermal aging up to 750°C decreased NOx conversion to a small degree, as well as NH₃ storage and oxidation functions. However, an unexpected increase in oxidation performance was observed upon further aging at 800 and 850°C. This phenomenon was probed and explained based on the changes in the nature of copper species in the Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst. Further aging above 850°C eventually resulted in catalyst structure collapse, leading to the loss of all the catalyst functions.