Electronic metal support interactions at nanoscale
|Single atom catalysis (SAC) attracts considerable attention in the field of heterogeneous catalysis due to ultimate noble metal utilisation, which allows to reduce costs. However, this concept still faces challenges related to the low density of active single-atom sites and poor thermal stability.
Dr Yaroslava Lykhach, Dr. Olaf Brummel, Prof. Dr. Jörg Libuda (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) and colleagues investigated the nature of electronic metal support interactions (EMSI) coupled with the cation exchange in a Pt/Co3O4(111)/Ir(100) model system. The researchers combined advanced analytical techniques (including synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy – SRPES – available at the Materials Science Beamline of the CERIC Czech partner facility, at Elettra Sincotrone Trieste) to characterise the EMSI with respect to both the structure of the Pt sites and the charge transfer between the Pt atoms and the Co3O4(111) substrate at atomic level detail.
These findings provide important insights into the charge transfer during the cation exchange at the surface and sub-surface regions, allowing to design and develop novel SAC with high density of atomically dispersed noble metal species.
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