CeO₂/Cu₂O/Cu Tandem Interfaces for Efficient Water-Gas Shift Reaction Catalysis.

Area of Science:

• Catalysis
• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Metal-oxide interfaces are critical for copper-based catalysts in the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction (LT-WGSR).
• Achieving abundant, active, and stable Cu-metal oxide interfaces under LT-WGSR conditions presents a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly efficient inverse copper-ceria (Cu@CeO₂) catalyst for the LT-WGSR.
• To elucidate the role of metal-oxide interfaces in catalyst performance.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of an inverse copper-ceria (Cu@CeO₂) catalyst.
• Quasi-in situ structural characterizations.
• Reaction kinetics studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Main Results:

• The Cu@CeO₂ catalyst exhibited approximately three times higher LT-WGSR activity compared to a pristine Cu catalyst.
• The catalyst featured abundant CeO₂/Cu₂O/Cu tandem interfaces.
• Cu⁺/Cu⁰ interfaces were identified as active sites, with CeO₂ facilitating H₂O activation and interface stabilization.

Conclusions:

• The CeO₂/Cu₂O/Cu tandem interface is key to regulating the activity and stability of Cu-based catalysts for LT-WGSR.
• This work contributes to the design of improved catalysts for the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction.