CO oxidation of Pt nanostructures supported by TiO2/Ti

This study examined the CO oxidation reactivity of Pt deposited on TiO2. The Pt catalysts were prepared by the evaporation of Pt on Ti foils covered with TiO2, and their surface structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Separate Pt nanoparticles could be observed with lower amounts of deposited Pt (<2 nm). With increasing Pt thickness, these Pt nanoparticles appeared to agglomerate into more complicated nanostructures. When approximately 5 nm of Pt was deposited, the TiO2 surface was almost completely covered by Pt. Additional deposition of Pt on these complete Pt-layers resulted in the deposition of small nanoparticles (approximately 5 nm) on top of the Pt underlayer. The CO oxidation reactivity at 160 degrees C, normalized with respect to the Pt thickness, initially decreased with increasing amount of Pt. This was attributed mainly to the decrease in the surface-to-volume ratio. However, the reactivity increased when the amount of Pt exceeded 5 nm, which can be rationalized in part by the unique structural properties of Pt-films according to SEM imaging. We also suggest that a stronger influence of the metal-support interactions at lower Pt coverages results in reduced catalytic activity.