Single-atom Zr promoter boosts oxygen activation on ceria-supported Pt catalysts
Weixin Huang, Hao Xu, Yang Deng, Shih-Wei Lin, Hien N. Pham, Rui Zhang, Dong Jiang, Zihao Zhang, Andrew DeLaRiva, Shuxuan Feng, Yixiao Li, Xinrui Zhang, Abhaya K. Datye, Chih‐Jung Chen, Yong Wang
Abstract
Activation of surface lattice oxygen and chemisorbed oxygen on catalyst surfaces constitutes a pivotal step in heterogeneous oxidative catalysis. Herein, we report a strategy for enhancing oxygen activation by rational design of catalysts with single-atom promoters. Single-site Zr species in CeO2 (Zr1-CeO2) are synthesized using the atom-trapping method. The Zr1-CeO2-supported Pt catalyst exhibits enhanced catalytic performance over the CeO2-supported Pt catalyst in the oxidation of CO, C3H8, and C3H6, achieving significantly lower T50 values (temperature required to reach 50% conversion). This enhanced catalytic activity is attributed to the formation of an asymmetric Zr1-O-Pt1 structure, which favors the activation of the adjacent surface lattice oxygen and chemisorbed molecular oxygen. This work exemplifies that incorporating single-site atoms into oxide support facilitates oxygen activation, providing new insights into the role of atomically dispersed promoters in heterogeneous catalysis. Efficient oxygen activation limits oxidative catalysis. Here, incorporating single-atom Zr into CeO₂-supported Pt catalysts creates Zr₁–O–Pt₁ structures, significantly enhancing catalytic performance via boosted surface and chemisorbed oxygen activation.