Site‐Resolved Cu₂O Catalysis in the Oxidation of CO

Abstract

The identification of the contribution of different surface sites to the catalytic activity of a catalyst nanoparticle is one of the most challenging issues in the fundamental studies of heterogeneous catalysis. We herein demonstrate an effective strategy of using a series of uniform cubic Cu2O nanocrystals with different sizes to identify the intrinsic activity and contributions of face and edge sites in the catalysis of CO oxidation by a combination of reaction kinetics analysis and DFT calculations. Cu2O nanocrystals undergo in situ surface oxidation forming CuO thin films during CO oxidation. As the average size of the cubic Cu2O nanocrystals decreases from 1029 nm to 34 nm, the dominant active sites contributing to the catalytic activity switch from face sites to edge sites. These results reveal the interplay between the intrinsic catalytic activity and the density of individual types of surface sites on a catalyst nanoparticle in determining their contributions to the catalytic activity.

Morphology‐Engineered Highly Active and Stable Ru/TiO2 Catalysts for Selective CO Methanation

“…In addition to varying the surface area of the support, engineering of their morphology has been recognized as an effective approach to modify the MSIs in oxide‐supported catalysts, which can affect both the size and shape of the metal NPs and the catalytic performance of these catalysts . Distinct TiO 2 morphology effects were reported for Au/TiO 2 catalysts in the propylene epoxidation and CO oxidation reactions .…”

CO oxidation and organic dyes degradation over graphene–Cu and graphene–CuNi catalysts obtained by solution combustion synthesis

“…It is well known, the metal and oxide nanopowders 9,28 , as well as graphene-based materials with functional groups and defects of different nature, play one of the major roles in catalysis, by activating oxygen dissociation and electron transfer between gas molecules and catalysts surface 13,29 . Moreover, combining metal grains, containing thin oxide film on their surfaces, with scsG could create a p-p heterojunction with a very wide electron depletion layer 30,31 .…”

Twisted Surfaces in Porous Single Crystals to Deliver Enhanced Catalytic Activity and Stability

“…Enhancing the catalytic activity and stability of materials would require identifying structural features that give rise to active sites with unsaturated coordination structures at surfaces. [1][2][3][4][5] Creating and engineering catalytically active surfaces on polycrystalline and amorphous materials are normally based on the average structural information. [6][7][8][9][10] The facets and atomic termination layers are very complex on the surfaces of polycrystalline and amorphous materials.…”