DOE OSTI · 3009545
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 in CeO 2 (Zr 1 -CeO 2 ) are synthesized using the atom-trapping method. The Zr 1 -CeO 2 -supported Pt catalyst exhibits enhanced catalytic performance over the CeO 2 -supported Pt catalyst in the oxidation of CO, C 3 H 8 , and C 3 H 6 , achieving significantly lower T 50 values (temperature required to reach 50% conversion). This enhanced catalytic activity is attributed to the formation of an asymmetric Zr 1 -O-Pt 1 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.
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Huang, Weixin [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)] (ORCID:0000000314564387), Xu, Hao [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0009000295807896), Deng, Yang [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)], Lin, Shih-Wei [National Taiwan Univ., Taipei (Taiwan)], Pham, Hien N. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)], Zhang, Rui [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000346916578), Jiang, Dong [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000304447865), Zhang, Zihao [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000151062656), DeLaRiva, Andrew [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)], Feng, Shuxuan [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)], Li, Yixiao [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States)], Zhang, Xinrui [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)], Datye, Abhaya K. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000271268659), Chen, Chih-Jung [National Taiwan Univ., Taipei (Taiwan)] (ORCID:0000000233097908), Wang, Yong [Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000284607410). 2025-08-07. Single-atom Zr promoter boosts oxygen activation on ceria-supported Pt catalysts. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62447-w
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