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ACS catalysis 12(4), 2473 - 2486 (2022). doi:10.1021/acscatal.1c04565, During the CO oxidation over metallic Pt clusters and Pt nanoparticles in Pt/CeO$_2$ catalysts, we found that the Pt surface concentration is a key descriptor for the reaction rate. By increasing the surface noble metal concentration (SNMC) of a Pt/CeO$_2$ catalyst by a factor of ∼4, while keeping the weight hourly space velocity constant, the ignition temperature of CO oxidation was decreased by ∼200 °C in the as-prepared state. Moreover, the stability was enhanced at higher SNMC. Complementary characterization and theoretical calculations unraveled that the origin of this improved reaction rate at higher Pt surface concentrations can be traced back to the formation of larger oxidized Pt-clusters and the SNMC-dependent aggregation rate of highly dispersed Pt species. The Pt diffusion barriers for cluster formation were found to decrease with increasing SNMC, promoting more facile agglomeration of active, metallic Pt particles. In contrast, when Pt particle formation was forced with a reductive pretreatment, the influence of the SNMC was temporarily diminished, and all catalysts showed a similar CO oxidation activity. The work shows the general relevance of the proximity influence in the formation and stabilization of active centers in heterogeneous catalysis., Published by ACS, Washington, DC

Spatially resolved operando HERFD-XANES (high energy resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption near edge structure) complemented by CO concentration gradient profiles along the catalyst bed...

fff; International audience; Reductive treatments with pulses of CO-rich atmosphere have been used to increase and maintain the low temperature activity of a Pt/CeO2-based oxidation catalyst. A combination of operando infrared thermography and spatiotemporal-resolved quick scanning extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy on a fixed bed microreactor unraveled that, apart from the pulse length, the reaction atmosphere, and the reactor temperature, also the emerging reaction heat during such activating pulses has a strong influence on the structure and catalytic performance of CO and propylene conversion in the axial direction of a fixed-bed and a monolithic reactor. The reductive pulse activation led to an increase of the integral catalyst activity as well as to the generation of zones of different particle sizes along the catalyst bed. In the case of an activation temperature between 250 and 350 °C and pulse lengths between 5 and 30 s, a hotspot of more than 80 K was observed at the beginning of the catalyst bed. Spatially resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy indicates that larger and more reduced Pt particles are formed particularly at the beginning of the catalyst bed, whereas its subsequent part is less affected. Both the length of the reductive pulses and activation temperature have a distinct influence on the noble metal particle size. On the basis of these results, a Pt/CeO2 based honeycomb shaped substrate was activated in a similar manner. Spatially resolved gas phase profiling showed different reaction rates at the beginning of the reactor, which indicates that the concept can be transferred also to industrially relevant catalysts. In the future, such an activation procedure might open up the door to a new class of operation strategies, by which individual zones generated in the catalyst bed could be assigned for removal of specific pollutants in the exhaust stream

The impact of catalyst pretreatment and its role in diesel oxidation catalysts was systematically studied by comparing the performance, CO adsorption characteristics, oxidation state, and local str...

The three-way catalytic converter (TWC) has become an integral part of the modern exhaust gas aftertreatment for gasoline engines. Some years ago, radio frequency technology has been successfully tested for monitoring and controlling ceria based TWC oxygen storage by contactless measuring the dielectric catalyst properties inside a cavity resonator. Applying the cavity perturbation method, we present results on CeO2, the oxygen storage component of three-way catalysts, and on differently prepared Pt–ceria model catalysts and combine it with in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopic (XAS) measurements conducted at the Ce L3-edge. The dielectric properties of the oxidized and reduced Pt–ceria and pure ceria powders were determined at 1.2 GHz between 250 and 550 °C. As the experiments show, the reduction of the material changes both, the polarization and the occurring dielectric losses. The complementary in situ XAS measurements, which allow monitoring variations in the redox state of ceria, gave a precise evaluation of the ceria reduction and oxidation. In addition, a substantial improvement of the low-temperature reducibility of ceria in the presence of Pt was demonstrated by both measurement techniques, in agreement with earlier studies. Furthermore, time resolved XAS data obtained during reducing/oxidizing cycles at 250 °C and 350 °C unraveled the faster and more pronounced reduction of ceria at higher temperature. Both methods proved to be valuable methods to provide insight into the oxygen storage and release process of ceria based materials, and capable to discriminate the impact of the noble metal or the ceria surface area in great detail, even under dynamic conditions, which is highly relevant for studying the function of state-of-the art three-way catalysis and giving input for OSC modeling studies.

α-Bi2Mo3O12, β-Bi2Mo2O9 , and γ-Bi2MoO6 as target bismuth molybdate phases were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and flame spray pyrolysis and tested for their catalytic performance in the selective oxidation of propylene. Their structure and reactivity during temperature-programmed reaction (TPR) and under reaction conditions were investigated by in situ and operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. To gain insight into amorphous and crystalline structures at the same time, XAS and XRD as well as XAS and Raman spectroscopy were combined in one experiment. TPR in propylene revealed that the reduction of Mo6+ to Mo4+ occurred at lower temperatures than from Bi3+ to Bi0 in scheelite-structured systems. In a reaction cycle, mainly reduction of molybdenum was observed and EXAFS fitting confirmed the removal of oxygen from MoO42– entities. Minor structural transformations were detected by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. The catalytic performance of aurivillius...

A dynamic structural behavior of Pt nanoparticles on the ceria surface under reducing/oxidizing conditions was found at moderate temperatures ( H2>C3H6). This dynamic nature of Pt on ceria at such low temperatures (250–500 °C) was additionally confirmed by in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy. A general concept is proposed to adjust the noble metal dispersion (size, structure), for example, during operation of an exhaust gas catalyst.

Platinum single sites are highly attractive due to their high atom economy and can be generated on CeO2 by an oxidative high-temperature treatment. However, their location and activity are strongly debated. Furthermore, reaction-driven structural dynamics have not been addressed so far. In this study, we were able to evidence platinum-induced CeO2 surface restructuring, locate platinum single sites on CeO2 and track the variation of the active state under reaction conditions using a complementary approach of density functional theory calculations, in situ infrared spectroscopy, operando high-energy-resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption spectroscopy and catalytic CO (as well as C3H6 and CH4) oxidation. We found that the onset of CO oxidation is linked to the migration of platinum single sites from four-fold hollow sites to form small clusters containing a few platinum atoms. This demonstrates that operando studies on single sites are essential to assess their fate and the resulting catalytic properties. Single-atom catalysts hold great promise for process optimization by reducing metal utilization. However, their structure–activity properties remain elusive. Here, a combination of operando techniques and density functional theory analysis is used to capture the evolution of single platinum atoms on CeO2 during CO, C3H6 and CH4 oxidation.

Spatially resolved

Pt-based diesel oxidation catalysts were investigated for CO oxidation activity under rapid transient temperature conditions based on a realistic driving cycle, which is presently a focal point in exhaust gas aftertreatment. Experiments were performed in a microreactor setup allowing rapid heating/cooling coupled with operando Turbo X-ray absorption spectroscopy (T-XAS) and on-line product analysis by mass spectrometry. Significant differences were observed in catalyst structure and performance depending on the temperature ramp rate. Particularly for Pt/Al2O3, the Pt oxidation state followed a dynamic hysteresis profile during CO oxidation light-off and light-out. In contrast, in Pt–CeO2/Al2O3, ceria acted as an oxygen storage buffer, reducing the width of the Pt oxidation/reduction hysteresis loop as a function of the temperature ramp rate. Ceria also supplied oxygen to the Pt surface, helping to maintain high activity during cooling down and at lower temperatures during transient conditions. This study shows the potential insights into the reaction mechanism available when considering transient temperature as an experimental condition during operando spectroscopic studies in exhaust gas catalysis. The current method is applicable to virtually any rapid transient temperature driving cycle.

The hysteresis in the CO oxidation profile over Pt/Al2O3 catalysts has been intensively studied, but its origin is still controversial. In this work, the influence of the Pt particle size and size distribution was systematically investigated. By the application of conventional and advanced preparation methods, such as flame spray pyrolysis and supercritical fluid reactive deposition, a series of catalysts containing homogeneous distributions of Pt particles were obtained. An optimal Pt particle size of 2–3 nm was identified for the CO oxidation light-off on Pt/Al2O3 catalysts. The CO oxidation results show a clear correlation between the Pt nanoparticle size and the ignition/extinction profile, including the switch of the hysteresis loop. On the basis of high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy characterization combined with in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy and operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements, the appearance of inverse h...

A comprehensive approach was applied to investigate oscillatory CO oxidation over a Pt/Al2O3-based diesel oxidation catalyst with small Pt particles (about 1.5 nm diameter) in a fixed-bed microreactor under relevant reaction conditions by combining spatially and time-resolved operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy, infrared thermography, and online mass spectrometry. The catalyst-bed zone responsible for the oscillatory behavior and the emerging hot spot was identified by means of IR thermography. Oscillations of the Pt oxidation state and the hot spot region evolved simultaneously and moved from the end toward the beginning of the catalyst bed with increasing reaction temperature. The changes in CO oxidation activity during oscillations can be unambiguously correlated with dynamic structural changes of the Pt particles. The applied operando approach is complementary to surface science studies and also studies on model Pt particles. Surface oxidation of small Pt nanoparticles leads to a fast deactivation of the catalyst, which is regenerated in a slow reduction step. The presence of metallic Pt is required for high activity of the catalyst.

Pt-CeO2-Al2O3 catalysts play an important role in diesel oxidation and three-way catalysis. In this study, the fast structural dynamics of both platinum and ceria in a 1 wt %Pt/5 wt %CeO2-Al2O3 catalyst prepared by flame spray pyrolysis have been systematically investigated under reducing and oxidizing conditions to elucidate the role of the Pt–CeO2 interface for CO oxidation and fast oxygen storage/release of ceria. The catalyst showed enhanced catalytic activity, particularly after application of a reducing/oxidizing conditioning step at 250 °C, with a pronounced dependence on the reducing agent (C3H6 < H2 < CO). In situ time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at the Ce L3-edge unraveled a dependence of the reduction extent of ceria during temperature-programmed reduction on the noble metal constituent and the applied reducing agent. Dynamic reducing/oxidizing cycling (2% H2 ↔ 10% O2 or 2% CO ↔ 10% O2) at various temperatures (150, 250, and 350 °C) showed that the reducibility of ceria increas...

Fresh and mildly aged Pt/Al2O3 model diesel oxidation catalysts with small and large noble metal particle size have been studied during CO oxidation under lean burn reaction conditions to gain more insight into the structure and oscillatory reaction behaviour. The catalytic performance, CO adsorption characteristics using in situ DRIFTS and oxidation state using in situ XAS were correlated. Stable and pronounced oscillations only occurred over the catalyst with smaller particle sizes. Characteristic for this catalyst are low-coordinated surface Pt sites (more corner and edge atoms) which seem to become oxidized at elevated temperature as evidenced by in situ DRIFTS and in situ XAS. In situ XAS further uncovered that the oxidation of the Pt surface starts from the end of the catalyst bed and the oxidation state oscillates like the catalytic activity.

Combined X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) were applied to investigate the interaction between reaction atmosphere, adsorbates and Pt oxidation state of Pt/Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ model diesel oxidation catalysts under CO/NO oxidation conditions. The Pt oxidation state was correlated to the adsorbates on the catalyst’s surface. Even at low temperature the reaction atmosphere had a strong impact on the oxidation state of the catalyst, and the oxidation state in turn strongly affected CO adsorption on the Pt particles.

Functionalized 4,4′-biphenyldicarboxylic acid molecules with additional amine, alkyne, azide or nitro groups were prepared and applied in the synthesis of novel metal-organic frameworks and mixed-linker metal-organic frameworks isoreticular to DUT-5. The properties of the frameworks could be tuned by varying the number of functional groups in the materials and the amine groups were employed in post-synthetic modification reactions without changing the framework structure or significantly decreasing the porosity of the materials. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.