Overcoming Discharge Inhibition in n-Butane Oxidation: Two-Component BaTiO3 and Mn-Cu Mixed Oxide Coatings

Abstract

A twin surface dielectric barrier discharge was used with a two-component coating to oxidize 300 ppm n-butane to CO<inf>2</inf> and H<inf>2</inf>O in synthetic air at room temperature and at 160°C. The integration of BaTiO<inf>3</inf> as a base material allowed the successful use of otherwise discharge ignition-inhibiting materials such as MnO<inf>2</inf>-CuO applied as a full coating. Pure BaTiO<inf>3</inf> led to highly porous coatings that do not hinder the discharge ignition and show a negligible influence on n-butane conversion while reducing byproduct formation. The two-component coatings strongly increased the CO<inf>2</inf> selectivity, reaching a maximum of 91.6% at an energy density of 450 J L⁻¹ and 160°C for the 1:2 ratio of BaTiO<inf>3</inf>:catalyst.