We report a single atom Rh1/CeO2catalyst prepared by the high temperature (800 °C) atom trapping (AT) method which is stable under both oxidative and reductive conditions. Infrared spectroscopic and electron microscopy characterization revealed the presence of exclusively ionic Rh species. These ionic Rh species are stable even under reducing conditions (CO at 300 °C) due to the strong interaction between Rh and CeO2achieved by the AT method, leading to high and reproducible CO oxidation activity regardless of whether the catalyst is reduced or oxidized. In contrast, ionic Rh species in catalysts synthesized by a conventional impregnation approach (e. g., calcined at 350 °C) can be readily reduced to form Rh nanoclusters/nanoparticles, which are easily oxidized under oxidative conditions, leading to loss of catalytic performance. The single atom Rh1/CeO2catalysts synthesized by the AT method do not exhibit changes during redox cycling hence are promising catalysts for emission control where redox cycling is encountered, and severe oxidation (fuel cut) leads to loss of performance.
Constructing single atom catalysts with fine-tuned coordination environments can be a promising strategy to achieve satisfactory catalytic performance. Herein, via a simple calcination temperature-control strategy, CeO2supported Pt single atom catalysts with precisely controlled coordination environments are successfully fabricated. The joint experimental and theoretical analysis reveals that the Pt single atoms on Pt1/CeO2prepared at 550 °C (Pt/CeO2-550) are mainly located at the edge sites of CeO2with a Pt–O coordination number of
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10380794
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Volume:
- 13
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2041-1723
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
more » « less
Abstract -
Abstract In this work, we compare the CO oxidation performance of Pt single atom catalysts (SACs) prepared via two methods: (1) conventional wet chemical synthesis (strong electrostatic adsorption–SEA) with calcination at 350 °C in air; and (2) high temperature vapor phase synthesis (atom trapping–AT) with calcination in air at 800 °C leading to ionic Pt being trapped on the CeO 2 in a thermally stable form. As-synthesized, both SACs are inactive for low temperature (<150 °C) CO oxidation. After treatment in CO at 275 °C, both catalysts show enhanced reactivity. Despite similar Pt metal particle size, the AT catalyst is significantly more active, with onset of CO oxidation near room temperature. A combination of near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) and CO temperature-programmed reduction (CO-TPR) shows that the high reactivity at low temperatures can be related to the improved reducibility of lattice oxygen on the CeO 2 support.more » « less
-
null (Ed.)Single-atom catalysts (SACs) exhibit excellent performance for various catalytic reactions but it is still challenging to have adequate total activity for practical applications. Here we report the high-valence, square planar Pt 1 –O 4 as an active site that enables significantly to increase the total activity of the Pt 1 /Fe 2 O 3 SAC with a Pt loading of only ∼30 ppm, which is similar to that of a 1.0 wt% nano-Pt/Fe 2 O 3 , for CO oxidation at 350 °C. Density functional theory calculations reveal that Pt 1 –O 4 catalyzes CO oxidation through a non-classical Mars–van Krevelen mechanism. The adsorbed O 2 on Pt 1 atoms activates the coordination oxygen in the Pt 1 –O 4 configuration, and then a barrierless O 2 dissociation occurs on the Pt 1 –Fe 2 triangle to replenish the consumed coordination oxygen by the cooperative action of Pt 5d and Fe 3d electrons. This work provides a new fundamental understanding of oxidation catalysis on stable and active SACs, providing guidance for rationally designing future heterogeneous catalysts.more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract Gold (Au)- and ceria (CeO2)-based catalysts are amongst the most active catalysts for the gas phase CO oxidation reaction. Nevertheless, nanosized Au and CeO2catalysts may encounter heat-induced sintering in thermochemical catalytic reactions. Herein, we report on the rational one-pot synthesis of ceria-reduced graphene oxide (CeO2-RGO) using a facile ethylenediamine (EDA)-assisted solvothermal method. Standalone RGO and free-standing CeO2were also prepared using the same EDA-assisted method for comparison. We then incorporated Au into the prepared samples by colloidal reduction and evaluated the catalytic activity of the different catalysts for CO oxidation. The RGO-supported CeO2surpassed the free-standing CeO2, exhibiting a 100% CO conversion at 285oC compared to 340oC in the case of CeO2. Interestingly, the RGO-supported Au/CeO2catalysts outperformed the Au/CeO2catalysts and achieved a 100% CO conversion at 76oC compared to 113oC in the case of Au/CeO2. Additionally, the Au/CeO2-RGO catalyst demonstrated remarkable room-temperature activity with simultaneous 72% CO conversion. This outstanding performance was attributed to the unique dispersion and size characteristics of the RGO-supported CeO2and Au catalysts in the ternary Au/CeO2-RGO nanocomposite, as revealed by TEM and XPS, among other techniques.
-
null (Ed.)Single-atom catalysts (SACs) exhibit unique catalytic property and maximum atom efficiency of rare, expensive metals. A critical barrier to applications of SACs is sintering of active metal atoms under operating conditions. Anchoring metal atoms onto oxide supports via strong metal-support bonds may alleviate sintering. Such an approach, however, usually comes at a cost: stabilization results from passivation of metal sites by excessive oxygen ligation—too many open coordination sites taken up by the support, too few left for catalytic action. Furthermore, when such stabilized metal atoms are activated by reduction at elevated temperatures they become unlinked and so move and sinter, leading to loss of catalytic function. We report a new strategy, confining atomically dispersed metal atoms onto functional oxide nanoclusters (denoted as nanoglues) that are isolated and immobilized on a robust, high-surface-area support—so that metal atoms do not sinter under conditions of catalyst activation and/or operation. High-number-density, ultra-small and defective CeOx nanoclusters were grafted onto high-surface-area SiO2 as nanoglues to host atomically dispersed Pt. The Pt atoms remained on the CeOx nanoglue islands under both O2 and H2 environment at high temperatures. Activation of CeOx supported Pt atoms increased the turnover frequency for CO oxidation by 150 times. The exceptional stability under reductive conditions is attributed to the much stronger affinity of Pt atoms for CeOx than for SiO2—the Pt atoms can move but they are confined to their respective nanoglue islands, preventing formation of larger Pt particles. The strategy of using functional nanoglues to confine atomically dispersed metal atoms and simultaneously enhance catalytic performance of localized metal atoms is general and takes SACs one major step closer to practical applications as robust catalysts for a wide range of catalytic transformations.more » « less
