Support
effects in catalysis are important in determining the catalytic
activity of supported phases through geometric and electronic effects.
Unveiling and quantifying support effects lead to the opportunity
to finely tune and optimize the activity of supported catalysts. The
study of support effects needs to be conducted in conditions where
other important parameters, such as size and composition of the active
phase, are not influencing the activity. This requirement is particularly
important when the activity is affected by reactants or products that
have implications in the reaction mechanism, as is the case of water
in hydrocarbon combustion. Here, we present a systematic study on
the effects of support acidity and water on propane combustion catalyzed
by platinum-based catalysts that reveal support effects beyond the
conventional geometric and electronic effects. A set of catalysts
prepared from colloidal Pt nanoparticles supported on alumina, silica–alumina,
and tungsten oxide-modified silica–alumina with increasing
controlled Brønsted acid site density was prepared. We observed
a monotonic increase in reaction rate as the same Pt particles were
supported on progressively more acidic supports, with an improvement
of up to 40 times in reaction rate for the sample with the highest
Brønsted acid site density [Pt/WO3(10%)/30% SiO2/Al2O3] compared to the bare Pt/Al2O3 sample. Based on kinetic measurements on samples
with different Pt particle sizes, we propose that (i) the metal–support
perimeter participates in the reaction, and (ii) the interaction between
metal and Brønsted acid sites is responsible for the increase
in activity. The origin of such rate increase was found to be related
to the enhanced resistance to water poisoning introduced by the acid
sites: samples with higher acidity displayed nearly zero water rate
order and more stable rates in the presence of steam. Using a Langmuir–Hinshelwood
model, the most acidic sample was shown to display the lowest water
coverage on the Pt surface. Summarizing all the observations, we propose
that the Brønsted acid sites help reduce water coverage on the
Pt surface through a spillover-like mechanism, which results in available
sites for propane adsorption and activation and thus higher reaction
rates in propane combustion. This work highlights how supports play
a role not only in modifying electronic and geometric properties of
supported phases, but also in the reaction mechanism through active
roles in modifying surface coverages.