Boosting reactivity of water-gas shift reaction by synergistic function over CeO<sub>2-x</sub>/CoO<sub>1-x</sub>/Co dual interfacial structures.

Fu, Xin-Pu; Wu, Cui-Ping; Wang, Wei-Wei; Jin, Zhao; Liu, Jin-Cheng; Ma, Chao; Jia, Chun-Jiang · Nat Commun · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Dual-interfacial structure within catalysts is capable of mitigating the detrimentally completive adsorption during the catalysis process, but its construction strategy and mechanism understanding remain vastly lacking. Here, a highly active dual-interfaces of CeO<sub>2-x</sub>/CoO<sub>1-x</sub>/Co is constructed using the pronounced interfacial interaction from surrounding small CeO<sub>2-x</sub> islets, which shows high activity in catalyzing the water-gas shift reaction. Kinetic evidence and in-situ characterization results revealed that CeO<sub>2-x</sub> modulates the oxidized state of Co species and consequently generates the dual active CeO<sub>2-x</sub>/CoO<sub>1-x</sub>/Co interface during the WGS reaction. A synergistic redox mechanism comprised of independent contribution from dual functional interfaces, including CeO<sub>2-x</sub>/CoO<sub>1-x</sub> and CoO<sub>1-x</sub>/Co, is authenticated by experimental and theoretical results, where the CeO<sub>2-x</sub>/CoO<sub>1-x</sub> interface alleviates the CO poison effect, and the CoO<sub>1-x</sub>/Co interface promotes the H<sub>2</sub> formation. The results may provide guidance for fabricating dual-interfacial structures within catalysts and shed light on the mechanism over multi-component catalyst systems.