Single-atom Zr promoter boosts oxygen activation on ceria-supported Pt catalysts

Abstract Activation of surface lattice oxygen and chemisorbed oxygen on catalyst surfaces constitutes a pivotal step in heterogeneous oxidative catalysis. Herein, we report a strategy for enhancing oxygen activation by rational design of catalysts with single-atom promoters. Single-site Zr species i...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Weixin Huang, Hao Xu, Yang Deng, Shih-Wei Lin, Hien N. Pham, Rui Zhang, Dong Jiang, Zihao Zhang, Andrew DeLaRiva, Shuxuan Feng, Yixiao Li, Xinrui Zhang, Abhaya K. Datye, Chih-Jung Chen, Yong Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62447-w
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Activation of surface lattice oxygen and chemisorbed oxygen on catalyst surfaces constitutes a pivotal step in heterogeneous oxidative catalysis. Herein, we report a strategy for enhancing oxygen activation by rational design of catalysts with single-atom promoters. Single-site Zr species in CeO2 (Zr1-CeO2) are synthesized using the atom-trapping method. The Zr1-CeO2-supported Pt catalyst exhibits enhanced catalytic performance over the CeO2-supported Pt catalyst in the oxidation of CO, C3H8, and C3H6, achieving significantly lower T50 values (temperature required to reach 50% conversion). This enhanced catalytic activity is attributed to the formation of an asymmetric Zr1-O-Pt1 structure, which favors the activation of the adjacent surface lattice oxygen and chemisorbed molecular oxygen. This work exemplifies that incorporating single-site atoms into oxide support facilitates oxygen activation, providing new insights into the role of atomically dispersed promoters in heterogeneous catalysis.
ISSN:2041-1723