Confined catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds by transition metal containing zeolites and ionizer

Ion exchange of zeolite, NaX, at different concentrations of cobalt (II) solutions can play an important role in gaseous contaminant destruction. The performance of the resulting zeolites on acetone removal when working together with an ionizer was evaluated. It was found that the cobalt containing zeolites worked better than the original NaX in our experiments. Catalytic oxidation mechanism of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) inside the pores of zeolite was proposed. It is believed that the octahedral coordinated cobalt (II) complexes shift to tetrahedral coordination upon entering into the pores of NaX, which then work with the reactive oxygen species released from the ionizer and catalyze the oxidation reactions of the adsorbed VOCs. The results have shown potential applications in odor removal and indoor air quality control.