Promoting the Reactivity of Surface Lattice Oxygen in Ce Modified α‐MnO ₂ via a Structure Reconstruction Strategy for Toluene Oxidation

Abstract Modulating the synthesis method to construct structural defects is significant for designing MnO ₂ ‐based catalysts that exhibited superior performance. In this paper, a Ce‐α‐MnO ₂ ‐δ catalyst with temperature‐induced phase reconstruction is successfully designed and prepared. During the high‐temperature calcination process, Ce‐α‐MnO ₂ ‐δ underwent a phase transition from δ‐MnO ₂ to α‐MnO ₂ . This structural reconstruction created numerous defects, redistributed surface charges, increased the contents of active Mn ³⁺ and Ce ⁴⁺ . The introduction of oxygen vacancies improved the adsorption and reactivation of toluene and gaseous oxygen and sped up the depletion and replacement period of lattice oxygen. Compared with the Ce‐α‐MnO ₂ catalyst prepared by ordinary hydrothermal method, Ce‐α‐MnO ₂ ‐δ has better catalytic performance and excellent durability, reaching 90% of toluene conversion at 229 °C. Furthermore, in situ DRIFTS tests illustrated that the toluene oxidation reaction adhered to the MvK mechanism, revealing the essential role of lattice oxygen in Ce‐α‐MnO ₂ ‐δ in the catalytic oxidation of toluene.