TY - JOUR AU - Liang, Jialin AU - Yuan, Fang AU - Sun, Qing AU - Wang, Jiajia AU - Qian, Chenguang AU - Liang, Shurui AU - Zhang, Xin AU - Li, Chunquan AU - Sun, Zhiming PY - 2026 TI - Diatomite interface-mediated MnO2 growth for enhanced hydroxyl activity and mass transfer in efficient room-temperature formaldehyde degradation JO - Journal of Materiomics SN - 2352-8478 VL - 12 IS - 3 AB - Traditional indoor formaldehyde (HCHO) treatment technologies often rely on light or thermal fields to supply catalytic energy, limiting their practical application in indoor environments. This study presents an in-situ growth strategy for uniformly loading δ-MnO2 onto diatomite to achieve efficient room-temperature catalytic oxidation of HCHO. The size of δ-MnO2 on the δ-MnO2/diatomite (50% MD) composite is significantly reduced, forming a microporous structure, with δ-MnO2 nanoflowers uniformly dispersed on the diatomite surface. The optimal 50% MD composite exhibits a hierarchical pore structure, greatly enhancing catalytic site exposure, and achieving a HCHO removal rate of 98.0%. The enhanced performance is attributed to the interaction between diatomite and δ-MnO2, which optimizes the particle size and dispersion of δ-MnO2, increases the Mn3+ content, and improves the surface oxygen activity of δ-MnO2. In-situ DRIFTS analysis demonstrates that 50% MD possesses the highest adsorption capacity of H2O, which is conducive to accelerating the conversion of intermediates and promoting the desorption of CO2. Moreover, SEM-FIB analysis intuitively reveals efficient H2O mass transfer on 50% MD to aid hydroxyl groups (–OH) regeneration. This work establishes a cost-effective, energy-free, and scalable strategy for indoor HCHO purification via coupled mineral-enabled transport engineering and interface-driven MnO2 activation. UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmat.2026.101200 DO - 10.1016/j.jmat.2026.101200