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Abstract Catalysts consisting of metal particles supported on reducible oxides exhibit promising activity and selectivity for a variety of current and emerging industrial processes. Enhanced catalytic activity can arise from direct contact between the support and the metal or from metal-induced promoter effects on the oxide. Discovering the source of enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity is challenging, with conflicting arguments often presented based on indirect evidence. Here, we separate the metal from the support by a controlled distance while maintaining the ability to promote defects via the use of carbon nanotube hydrogen highways. As illustrative cases, we use this approach to show that the selective transformation of furfural to methylfuran over Pd/TiO₂occurs at the Pd-TiO₂interface while anisole conversion to phenol and cresol over Cu/TiO₂is facilitated by exposed Ti³⁺cations on the support. This approach can be used to clarify many conflicting arguments in the literature.