Thermally stable single atom Pt/m-Al2O3 for selective hydrogenation and CO oxidation
Zailei Zhang1, Yihan Zhu2, Hiroyuki Asakura3,4
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117585 Singapore, Singapore.
Abstract:
Single-atom metal catalysts offer a promising way to utilize precious noble metal elements more effectively, provided that they are catalytically active and sufficiently stable. Herein, we report a synthetic strategy for Pt single-atom catalysts with outstanding stability in several reactions under demanding conditions. The Pt atoms are firmly anchored in the internal surface of mesoporous Al2O3, likely stabilized by coordinatively unsaturated pentahedral Al3+ centres. The catalyst keeps its structural integrity and excellent performance for the selective hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene after exposure to a reductive atmosphere at 200 °C for 24 h. Compared to commercial Pt nanoparticle catalyst on Al2O3 and control samples, this system exhibits significantly enhanced stability and performance for n-hexane hydro-reforming at 550 °C for 48 h, although agglomeration of Pt single-atoms into clusters is observed after reaction. In CO oxidation, the Pt single-atom identity was fully maintained after 60 cycles between 100 and 400 °C over a one-month period.
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