Photoinduced Lattice Oxygen Spillover on Ru/BaTiO <sub>3</sub> for Efficient and Stable Photothermal Dry Reforming of Methane
Delong Duan, Cenfeng Fu, Xiaomin Ji, Zehui Dai, Aobo Chen, Canyu Hu, M-Y Ge, Hailong Xiong, Min Zhou, Ran Long, Yujie Xiong
Abstract
Lattice oxygen (O l )-mediated photothermal dry reforming of methane (DRM) offers a promising approach to converting two greenhouse gases (CH 4 and CO 2 ) into syngas. However, the intrinsic stability of metal–oxygen bonds often restricts the O l mobility. Herein, we developed a Ru/BaTiO 3 with a well-defined metal–support interface that enables a photoinduced lattice oxygen spillover effect for efficient and stable photothermal DRM. Under light irradiation, the photoexcited electrons transfer to Ru δ + sites, greatly improving its electron density, while the photogenerated holes move to the lattice oxygen of BaTiO 3, which weakens the Ba–O–Ti bonds for facilitating lattice oxygen migration. In situ characterizations and theoretical calculations confirm that this photoinduced lattice oxygen spillover effect promotes reactant activation and shifts the DRM pathway from the carbon-forming CH 3 * route as observed in thermal catalysis to a carbon-free CH 3 O* route, thereby effectively suppressing coke formation. As a result, the Ru/BaTiO 3 catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic stability (>120 h) and superior catalytic activity (10.1/11.4 mol g Ru –1 h –1 for H 2 /CO production) under simulated sunlight irradiation. This work motivates the design of efficient and stable DRM catalysts under mild conditions.