A novel synthetic route to prepare high surface area mayenite catalyst for TCE oxidation

Mayenite (Ca 12 Al 14 O 33 ) was synthesized by a novel route based on the use of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as a soft templating agent. The material was tested for the total oxidation of trichloroethylene in the gas phase and the catalytic performance was analysed when using different initial amounts of PMMA in the catalyst synthesis. The results were compared with those obtained with a mayenite synthetized by a classical hydrothermal method. The highest activity in terms of TCE conversion was achieved in the presence of mayenite prepared using 10% w/w of PMMA; its activity was also higher than that of the hydrothermal mayenite. The surface area and the number of superoxide anions (O 2− ) seem to be the main properties determining the catalytic activity of the material.