In situ manipulation of the active Au-TiO<sub>2</sub> interface with atomic precision during CO oxidation.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33510028.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.abe3558.
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Abstract
The interface between metal catalyst and support plays a critical role in heterogeneous catalysis. An epitaxial interface is generally considered to be rigid, and tuning its intrinsic microstructure with atomic precision during catalytic reactions is challenging. Using aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscopy, we studied the interface between gold (Au) and a titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) support. Direct atomic-scale observations showed an unexpected dependence of the atomic structure of the Au-TiO<sub>2</sub> interface with the epitaxial rotation of gold nanoparticles on a TiO<sub>2</sub> surface during carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation. Taking advantage of the reversible and controllable rotation, we achieved in situ manipulation of the active Au-TiO<sub>2</sub> interface by changing gas and temperature. This result suggests that real-time design of the catalytic interface in operating conditions may be possible.