Thermally stable single atom Pt/m-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> for selective hydrogenation and CO oxidation.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28748956.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms16100 and PMC identifier 5537564.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Single-atom metal catalysts offer a promising way to utilize precious noble metal elements more effectively, provided that they are catalytically active and sufficiently stable. Herein, we report a synthetic strategy for Pt single-atom catalysts with outstanding stability in several reactions under demanding conditions. The Pt atoms are firmly anchored in the internal surface of mesoporous Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, likely stabilized by coordinatively unsaturated pentahedral Al<sup>3+</sup> centres. The catalyst keeps its structural integrity and excellent performance for the selective hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene after exposure to a reductive atmosphere at 200 °C for 24 h. Compared to commercial Pt nanoparticle catalyst on Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and control samples, this system exhibits significantly enhanced stability and performance for n-hexane hydro-reforming at 550 °C for 48 h, although agglomeration of Pt single-atoms into clusters is observed after reaction. In CO oxidation, the Pt single-atom identity was fully maintained after 60 cycles between 100 and 400 °C over a one-month period.