Highly active Ni/Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ nanocatalysts with tunable interfacial interactions for PH₃ decomposition

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Phosphine gas (PH3) decomposition is crucial for yellow phosphorus (P4) production.
• Developing efficient and stable catalysts for PH3 decomposition remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the catalytic performance of a mixed-metal oxide Ni/Fe3O4/TiO2 for PH3 decomposition.
• To explore the role of dual metal-oxide interfaces and metal-support interactions in catalytic activity and stability.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of Ni/Fe3O4/TiO2 catalyst with tunable Ni-Fe3O4 and Ni-TiO2 interactions via annealing and reduction.
• Characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
• Investigation of the PH3 decomposition mechanism and catalytic pathways.

Main Results:

• The Ni/Fe3O4/TiO2 catalyst demonstrated significantly effective activity and good stability in PH3 decomposition.
• Annealing and reduction processes successfully modulated the Ni-Fe3O4 and Ni-TiO2 dual interactions.
• NiOOH was identified as an active catalytic intermediate species formed by synergistic dual interfaces.

Conclusions:

• The study provides the first revelation of catalytic reaction pathways for PH3 decomposition over dual interfaces.
• Optimizing metal-support interactions is key to enhancing catalytic performance in synergistic catalysis.
• The developed Ni/Fe3O4/TiO2 catalyst offers promising potential for efficient P4 production.