Palladium Encapsulated by an Oxygen-Saturated TiO₂ Overlayer for Low-Temperature SO₂ -Tolerant Catalysis during CO...

The development of oxidation catalysts that are resistant to sulfur poisoning is crucial for extending the lifespan of catalysts in real-working conditions. Herein, we describe the design and synthesis of oxide-metal interaction (OMI) catalyst under oxidative atmospheres. By using organic coated TiO₂ , an oxide/metal inverse catalyst with non-classical oxygen-saturated TiO₂ overlayers were obtained at relatively low temperature. These catalysts were found to incorporate ultra-small Pd metal and support particles with exceptional reactivity and stability for CO oxidation (under 21 vol % O₂ and 10 vol % H₂ O). In particular, the core (Pd)-shell (TiO₂ ) structured OMI catalyst exhibited excellent resistance to SO₂ poisoning, yielding robust CO oxidation performance at 120 °C for 240 h (at 100 ppm SO₂ and 10 vol % H₂ O). The stability of this new OMI catalyst was explained through density functional theory (DFT) calculations that interfacial oxygen atoms at Pd-O-Ti sites (of oxygen-saturated overlayers) serve as non-metal active sites for low-temperature CO oxidation, and change the SO₂ adsorption from metal(d)-to-SO₂ (π*) back-bonding to much weaker σ(Ti-S) bonding.