Vehicle exhaust emissions comprise not only conventional pollutants such as CO, HC, NO
ₓ, and particulate matter (PM)
[1−3],but also unconventional species such as C
2H
4 (ethylene)
[4−5]. As a highly reactive volatile organic compound (VOC), C
2H
4 can undergo photochemical reactions with NO
ₓ under sunlight to generate O
3 and secondary organic aerosols (SOA), the latter being a key precursor to PM
2.5. PM poses serious threats to both human health and atmospheric environmental quality
[6−7]. Therefore, the catalytic removal of olefinic pollutants such as C
2H
4 from vehicle emissions is essential for meeting increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Currently, noble metal-based oxidation catalysts—such as diesel oxidation catalysts (DOC) and catalyzed diesel particulate filters (CDPF)—exhibit some capability for C
2H
4 removal
[8], yet their efficiency remains limited to approximately 65%
[9]. Noble metals, due to their unsaturated
d-electron orbitals, possess strong adsorption affinity for reactants and exhibit excellent catalytic performance
[10]. Platinum group metals (PGMs) such as Pt and Pd are particularly effective, as they facilitate the simultaneous adsorption and activation of C
2H
4 and O
2 on their surfaces. Huang et al.
[11] reported that Pt-Pd/CeO
2 catalysts show outstanding low-temperature oxidation activity toward HC and CO in diesel exhaust. Huang et al.
[12] found that Pt/β-zeolite catalysts can achieve up to 90% oxidation efficiency for olefins such as propylene. However, the widespread application of PGMs is constrained by their high cost, scarcity, and susceptibility to sintering and deactivation under high exhaust temperatures
[13−14].
In contrast, Ag is abundant, relatively cost-effective, and demonstrates excellent selective adsorption and oxidation capacity towards C
2H
4, making it a promising alternative for designing efficient and economically viable catalysts. Liang et al.
[15] demonstrated that Ag loading significantly enhances the degradation efficiency of C
2H
4 under light irradiation. Lee et al.
[16] revealed that Ag supported on ZSM-5 zeolite improves the adsorption capacity for C
2H
4. Yan et al.
[17] found that Ag-modified aromatic microporous polyimide (MPI) exhibits enhanced selectivity for C
2H
4 adsorption. Giorgio et al.
[18] also reported that supporting Ag on porous carbon improves the selective adsorption for olefinic species. Furthermore, studies on bimetallic systems have revealed synergistic effects. Pu et al.
[19]investigated Ag-loaded Al
2O
3 modified with various transition metals and concluded that co-loading Ag and Cu results in better selectivity and oxidation performance for C
2H
4 than Ag alone. Greiner et al.
[20] similarly confirmed that Ag-Cu bimetallic catalysts exhibit higher C
2H
4 oxidation selectivity compared to monometallic Ag. While Ag provides strong selectivity and catalytic oxidation capability for C
2H
4, Cu enhances the adsorption of O
2. Therefore, Ag-Cu bimetallic systems are promising for synergistically improving both the selectivity and oxidation activity toward C
2H
4.
Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are a class of two-dimensional layered clays with a positively charged octahedral structure similar to hydrotalcite. Among them, MgAl-LDHs have attracted widespread attention due to their low synthesis cost and readily available raw materials
[21−23]. Upon high-temperature calcination, MgAl-LDHs are transformed into layered double oxides (MgAl-LDOs) with large specific surface area, high dispersion of active components, and tunable chemical properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms that the dominant crystalline phase in MgAl-LDO after calcination is MgO
[24−25]. Therefore, in this study, MgO was selected as a simplified structural model of MgAl-LDO to serve as the support of Ag and Cu in the catalytic oxidation of C
2H
4.