Self-Regeneration Process of Ni-Cu Alloy Catalysts during a Three-Way Catalytic Reaction-An Operando Study

It is important to understand the reduction processes of mixed metal oxides or metal oxide interfaces in three-way catalytic reactions toward replacing the currently used high-cost Pt group metal catalysts. The redox behavior of simple Ni-Cu alloy catalysts, which exhibit high catalytic activity and durability during a three-way catalytic reaction, was studied by operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The operando XAS analyses revealed that Ni-Cu species changed from the NiO-Cu₂O to Ni-Cu alloy and vice versa under reductive and oxidative conditions, respectively. The real-time monitoring of the oxidation states of Ni and Cu species indicated that the Cu species assisted the reduction of Ni species, in agreement with the density functional theory-based study of NiO reduction by carbon monoxide in the presence of metallic Cu nanoparticles.