The
effect of nanosized ceria on supported Cu nanoparticles was
investigated at an atomic level and correlated to the catalytic activity
on the water–gas shift reaction (WGSR) rate. For Cu/Al2O3, increasing the Cu nanoparticle size leads to
a decrease in the oxygen coverage and an increase in the bond length
of Cu–O. When different loadings of nanosized ceria are introduced
to the Cu/Al2O3 catalysts, no significant change
occurred in the Cu particle size, the Cu–Cu bond length, or
the oxygen coverage. However, ceria is able to interact with the Cu
nanoparticles to increase the Cu–O bond length, and a linear
correlation between ceria loading, Cu–O bond length, and WGSR
rate was found. Hence, while previous reports claim that ceria leads
to Cu nanoparticle stabilization or interface active sites, we have
shown that the ceria tailors the Cu–O bond length, which has
been shown to be a determinant of the WGSR rate.
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