Strong Metal‐Support Interaction Triggered by Molten Salts
Wei Guo, Guoqiang Zhao, Zixiang Huang, Zhouxin Luo, Xusheng Zheng, Mingxia Gao, Yongfeng Liu, Hongge Pan, Wenping Sun
Abstract
Abstract Strong metal‐support interaction (SMSI) plays a vital role in tuning the geometric and electronic structures of metal species. Generally, a high‐temperature treatment (>500 °C) in reducing atmosphere is required for constructing SMSI, which may induce the sintering of metal species. Herein, we use molten salts as the reaction media to trigger the formation of high‐intensity SMSI at reduced temperatures. The strong ionic polarization of the molten salt promotes the breakage of Ti−O bonds in the TiO 2 support, and hence decreases the energy barrier for the formation of interfacial bonds. Consequently, a high‐intensity SMSI state is achieved in TiO 2 supported Ir nanoclusters, evidenced by a large number of Ir−Ti bonds at the interface, at a low temperature of 350 °C. Moreover, this method is applicable for triggering SMSI in various supported metal catalysts with different oxide supports including CeO 2 and SnO 2 . This newly developed SMSI construction methodology opens a new avenue and holds significant potential for engineering advanced supported metal catalysts toward a broad range of applications.