Regulating the interaction between Zr-based support and Pt for enhanced room-temperature hydrogen elimination
Yong Liu1, Zexu Wang1, Chenxu Liu1
1Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
|January 7, 2026
Summary
New platinum (Pt) catalysts on zirconium (Zr)-based alloys show superior performance for hydrogen elimination, addressing safety concerns. The Pt/ZrVFeTi catalyst achieved 96.8% H2 conversion, outperforming conventional materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Catalysis
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Hydrogen leakage poses safety risks, driving demand for improved catalysts.
- Conventional platinum (Pt) catalysts on oxide supports exhibit limited performance for hydrogen elimination.
- Zirconium (Zr)-based multi-component alloys are explored as advanced catalyst supports.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate novel Pt-based catalysts supported on Zr-based alloys for enhanced hydrogen elimination.
- To compare the performance of Pt/Zr-based alloy catalysts with conventional Pt/γ-Al2O3.
- To elucidate the mechanism behind the superior catalytic activity using computational methods.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of Pt catalysts (Pt/γ-Al2O3, Pt/ZrFe, Pt/ZrVFe, Pt/ZrVFeTi) via chemical reduction.
- Characterization of catalyst properties (phase structure, morphology, redox, chemical states).
- Evaluation of hydrogen elimination performance in a fixed-bed reactor and static tests.
- Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for mechanistic studies.
Main Results:
- Pt catalysts supported on Zr-based alloys demonstrated superior hydrogen elimination activity compared to Pt/γ-Al2O3.
- Pt/ZrVFeTi achieved a dynamic H2 conversion rate of 96.8%, significantly higher than Pt/γ-Al2O3 (92.9%).
- Pt/ZrVFeTi exhibited excellent static performance: <0.5 vol% initiation threshold, 2 min initiation time, and 5.22 g H2·(kg·min)−1 elimination rate.
Conclusions:
- The Pt/ZrVFeTi catalyst shows exceptional performance for hydrogen elimination under simulated and ambient conditions.
- Multi-component synergy in the ZrVFeTi support optimizes metal-support interaction, Pt dispersion, and H2 adsorption.
- DFT calculations confirm enhanced interfacial charge transfer and electronic structure contribute to superior catalytic activity.
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