| 1. |
- Kottwitz, Matthew, et al.
(author)
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Local Structure and Electronic State of Atomically Dispersed Pt Supported on Nanosized CeO2
- 2019
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In: ACS Catalysis. - : AMER CHEMICAL SOC. - 2155-5435. ; 9:9, s. 8738-8748
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Single atom catalysts (SACs) have shown high activity and selectivity in a growing number of chemical reactions. Many efforts aimed at unveiling the structure-property relationships underpinning these activities and developing synthesis methods for obtaining SACs with the desired structures are hindered by the paucity of experimental methods capable of probing the attributes of local structure, electronic properties, and interaction with support-features that comprise key descriptors of their activity. In this work, we describe a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches that include photon and electron spectroscopy, scattering, and imaging methods, linked by density functional theory calculations, for providing detailed and comprehensive information on the atomic structure and electronic properties of SACs. This characterization toolbox is demonstrated here using a model single atom Pt/CeO2 catalyst prepared via a sol-gel-based synthesis method. Isolated Pt atoms together with extra oxygen atoms passivate the (100) surface of nanosized ceria. A detailed picture of the local structure of Pt nearest environment emerges from this work involving the bonding of isolated Pt2+ ions at the hollow sites of perturbed (100) surface planes of the CeO2 support, as well as a substantial (and heretofore unrecognized) strain within the CeO2 lattice in the immediate vicinity of the Pt centers. The detailed information on structural attributes provided by our approach is the key for understanding and improving the properties of SACs.
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| 2. |
- Kottwitz, Matthew, et al.
(author)
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Single Atom Catalysts: A Review of Characterization Methods
- 2021
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In: Chemistry-Methods. - : John Wiley and Sons Inc. - 2628-9725. ; 1:6, s. 278-294
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Single atom catalysts (SACs) harbor a potential to exceed nanoparticle catalysts in terms of activity, stability and selectivity in a growing number of chemical reactions. Although their investigation is attracting significant attention, important fundamental questions focusing on key physicochemical properties of SACs (e. g., structure – property relationships, structural dynamics, reaction-driven restructuring) remain unanswered. A main challenge for research in the field is how to reliably characterize the environments of single atoms in the presence of complicating factors such as low weight loadings, strong metal-support interactions, and atomic and multiscale heterogeneity of bonding in the single atom sites. This review addresses this challenge – identifying catalytically relevant features of physicochemical properties of single atoms (charge state, electronic structure, atomic configuration, bonding interactions with a support) and surveying advanced tools/methods for characterizing them. The review places a strong emphasis on multimodal methods exploiting X-ray absorption, emission and photoelectron spectroscopies, and provides several examples from the authors’ research that demonstrate their use as powerful tools for SAC characterization.
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| 3. |
- Li, Yuanyuan, et al.
(author)
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Active sites of atomically dispersed Pt supported on Gd-doped ceria with improved low temperature performance for CO oxidation
- 2023
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In: Chemical Science. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2041-6520 .- 2041-6539. ; 14:44, s. 12582-12588
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- “Single-atom” catalysts (SACs) have been the focus of intense research, due to debates about their reactivity and challenges toward determining and designing “single-atom” (SA) sites. To address the challenge, in this work, we designed Pt SACs supported on Gd-doped ceria (Pt/CGO), which showed improved activity for CO oxidation compared to its counterpart, Pt/ceria. The enhanced activity of Pt/CGO was associated with a new Pt SA site which appeared only in the Pt/CGO catalyst under CO pretreatment at elevated temperatures. Combined X-ray and optical spectroscopies revealed that, at this site, Pt was found to be d-electron rich and bridged with Gd-induced defects via an oxygen vacancy. As explained by density functional theory calculations, this site opened a new path via a dicarbonyl intermediate for CO oxidation with a greatly reduced energy barrier. These results provide guidance for rationally improving the catalytic properties of SA sites for oxidation reactions.
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| 4. |
- Li, Yuanyuan, et al.
(author)
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Dynamic structure of active sites in ceria-supported Pt catalysts for the water gas shift reaction
- 2021
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Oxide-supported noble metal catalysts have been extensively studied for decades for the water gas shift (WGS) reaction, a catalytic transformation central to a host of large volume processes that variously utilize or produce hydrogen. There remains considerable uncertainty as to how the specific features of the active metal-support interfacial bonding-perhaps most importantly the temporal dynamic changes occurring therein-serve to enable high activity and selectivity. Here we report the dynamic characteristics of a Pt/CeO2 system at the atomic level for the WGS reaction and specifically reveal the synergistic effects of metal-support bonding at the perimeter region. We find that the perimeter Pt-0-O vacancy-Ce3+ sites are formed in the active structure, transformed at working temperatures and their appearance regulates the adsorbate behaviors. We find that the dynamic nature of this site is a key mechanistic step for the WGS reaction. Revealing the structure and dynamics of active sites is essential to understand catalytic mechanisms. Here the authors demonstrate the dynamic nature of perimeter Pt-0-O vacancy-Ce3+ sites in Pt/CeO2 and the key effects of their dynamics on the mechanism of the water gas shift reaction.
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| 5. |
- Wang, Haodong, et al.
(author)
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Aliovalent Doping of CeO2 Improves the Stability of Atomically Dispersed Pt
- 2021
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In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1944-8244 .- 1944-8252. ; 13:44, s. 52736-52742
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Atomically dispersed supported catalysts hold considerable promise as catalytic materials. The ability to employ and stabilize them against aggregation in complex process environments remains a key challenge to the elusive goal of 100% atom utilization in catalysis. Herein, using a Gd-doped ceria support for atomically dispersed surface Pt atoms, we establish how the combined effects of aliovalent doping and oxygen vacancy generation provide dynamic mechanisms that serve to enhance the stability of supported single-atom configurations. Using correlated, in situ X-ray absorption, photoelectron, and vibrational spectroscopy methods for the analysis of samples on the two types of support (with and without Gd doping), we establish that the Pt atoms are located proximal to Gd dopants, forming a speciation that serves to enhance the thermal stability of Pt atoms against aggregation.
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