Dynamic structure of active sites in ceria-supported Pt catalysts for the water gas shift reaction.

Li, Yuanyuan; Kottwitz, Matthew; Vincent, Joshua L; Enright, Michael J; Liu, Zongyuan; Zhang, Lihua; Huang, Jiahao; Senanayake, Sanjaya D et al. · Nat Commun · 2021

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Oxide-supported noble metal catalysts have been extensively studied for decades for the water gas shift (WGS) reaction, a catalytic transformation central to a host of large volume processes that variously utilize or produce hydrogen. There remains considerable uncertainty as to how the specific features of the active metal-support interfacial bonding-perhaps most importantly the temporal dynamic changes occurring therein-serve to enable high activity and selectivity. Here we report the dynamic characteristics of a Pt/CeO<sub>2</sub> system at the atomic level for the WGS reaction and specifically reveal the synergistic effects of metal-support bonding at the perimeter region. We find that the perimeter Pt<sup>0</sup> - O vacancy-Ce<sup>3+</sup> sites are formed in the active structure, transformed at working temperatures and their appearance regulates the adsorbate behaviors. We find that the dynamic nature of this site is a key mechanistic step for the WGS reaction.