Single atom catalysts (SACs) have attracted a lot of interest due to the promise of atom efficiency, superior reactivity and selectivity. The ability of single atoms to serve as active sites has been debated and making the single atoms thermally stable without agglomeration remains a challenge. Here we show that single atom Pt/CeO2 prepared by trapping Pt ions via high temperature (800 °C) treatment does not constitute the active catalyst for CO oxidation, but rather it serves as the precursor, and after activation in CO, forms a highly reactive and regenerable catalyst. 100% CO conversion was reached at 70 °C (T100=70 °C). The high activity is attributed to the formation of ~1nm Pt nanoparticles, which bind CO weakly and hence are not poisoned by CO, and to the restructuring of the catalyst support to allow facile oxygen transfer to the active sites. An important feature of this catalyst is the ease of regeneration, since the single atoms and nanoparticles can be generated reversibly through redox treatments. We conclude that high temperature, vapor phase synthesis on commercial high surface area supports provides a novel approach to generate SACs suitable for industrial use.

Tailoring the activity of Pt/CeO2 catalysts via high temperature synthesis

256th National Meeting (2018)

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