Sustainable and efficient catalytic oxidation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds over Ru-loaded facet-engineered {201}-TiO2 catalyst with tuned defects

Sustainable and efficient catalytic oxidation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) poses an enduring challenge. This bottleneck arises from the limited catalytic activity of redox reactions and chlorine desorption, causing catalyst deactivation and secondary pollution. Herein, our sound strategy involves Ru-loaded facet-engineered {201}-TiO with tuned defects, thereby boosting its reactivity. Comprehensive characterizations and DFT calculation manifested that Ru/{201}-TiO, with abundant oxygen vacancies, Ti defects, and robust metal-support interaction, enabled flexible electron transfer to activate O and the dissociation of HO, thus facilitating the continuous generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as •O and hydroxyl species. These ROS effectively enhance chlorine desorption and chlorobenzene deep oxidation. Ru/{201}-TiO exhibited superior reactivity for chlorobenzene degradation, with an apparent activation energy (Ea) of 31.0 KJ/mol and 100 % chlorobenzene conversion in a 1000-min stability test, even with HO introduction. Ru/{201}-TiO produced 2.2–3.1 times fewer small-molecule chlorinated byproducts than Ru/{101}-TiO, with no polychlorinated benzenes detected.