Classical Strong Metal-Support Interactions Induced by Calcination in Argon Atmosphere

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Catalysis
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Stabilizing dispersed metal nanoparticles in heterogeneous catalysts is crucial but challenging due to sintering and deactivation.
• Strong metal-support interactions (SMSI) offer stabilization but typically require harsh conditions and are inaccessible for non-reducible oxides like ZrO2.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new strategy for achieving classical SMSI on non-reducible oxide supports.
• To enhance the stability and durability of platinum catalysts on ZrO2 for CO oxidation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an inert argon calcination process for Pt/ZrO2 catalysts.
• Employed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the encapsulation mechanism.
• Characterized the electronic interactions and structural changes.

Main Results:

• Argon calcination induced oxygen vacancies in ZrO2, promoting encapsulation of Pt nanoparticles by a ZrOx overlayer.
• Demonstrated explicit electron transfer from ZrO2 to Pt, confirming SMSI.
• Achieved highly stable and durable CO oxidation over 100 hours, unlike untreated catalysts.

Conclusions:

• A simple argon calcination strategy enables classical SMSI on non-reducible ZrO2 supports.
• This method significantly improves catalyst stability and performance.
• The approach is generalizable to other catalytic systems with non-reducible oxide supports.