Kinetic measurements are paired with in-situ spectroscopic characterization tools to investigate colloidally based, supported Pt catalytic model systems in order to elucidate the mechanisms by which metal and support work in tandem to dictate activity and selectivity. The results demonstrate oxide support materials, while inactive in absence of Pt nanoparticles, possess unique active sites for the selective conversion of gas phase molecules when paired with an active metal catalyst.
In order to establish a paradigm for metal-support interactions using colloidally synthesized Pt nanoparticles the ability of the organic capping agent to inhibit reactivity and interaction with the support must first be assessed. Pt nanoparticles capped by poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), and those from which the PVP is removed by UV light exposure, are investigated for two reactions, the hydrogenation of ethylene and the oxidation of methanol. It is shown that prior to PVP removal the particles are moderately active for both reactions. Following removal, the activity for the two reactions diverges, the ethylene hydrogenation rate increases 10-fold, while the methanol oxidation rate decreases 3-fold. To better understand this effect the capping agent prior to, and the residual carbon remaining after UV treatment are probed by sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy. Prior to removal no major differences are observed when the particles are exposed to alternating H2 and O2 environments. When the PVP is removed, carbonaceous fragments remain on the surface that dynamically restructure in H2 and O2. These fragments create a tightly bound shell in an oxygen environment and a porous coating of hydrogenated carbon in the hydrogen environment. This observation explains the divergent catalytic results. Reaction rate measurements of thermally cleaned PVP and oleic acid capped particles show this effect to be independent of cleaning method or capping agent. In all this demonstrates the ability of the capping agent to mediate nanoparticle catalysis.
With this established the hydrogenation of furfural by Pt supported on SiO2 and TiO2 was investigated by an approach combining reaction studies with SFG in order to gain molecular level insight into the nature of the metal-support interaction. This is the first instance of SFG being used to probe the factors governing selectivity in a supported catalyst system. This work revealed that TiO2 possessed sites that, while inactive without Pt, became highly active for the selective conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol. By SFG a TiO2 bound intermediate species was identified that could explain the highly selective nature of the reaction by Pt/TiO2. In combination with density functional theory calculations it was determined that furfural bound favorably to oxygen vacancy sites on the TiO2 surface through the aldehyde oxygen, which in turn activated the aldehyde group for hydrogenation by a charge transfer mechanism. This intermediate could then react with spillover hydrogen from the Pt surface to form furfuryl alcohol.
In an effort to generalize this mechanism to additional molecules and reducible oxides the work was expanded to the hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde with cobalt oxide as an additional support. Reaction studies and SFG study of the Pt/TiO2, Pt/Co3O4, and Pt/SiO2 catalysts, revealed a reaction pathway for Pt/TiO2 and Pt/Co3O4 which selectively produced alcohol products, crotyl alcohol and butanol, while no alcohol production was observed for the Pt/SiO2 catalyst. A thorough study of the possible secondary reaction pathways revealed that butanol was formed in a concerted manner, rather than through sequential hydrogenation of the C=C and C=O groups. Sum frequency generation studies revealed that Pt supported on SiO2 yielded identical reaction intermediates as Pt single crystals, further cementing the passive role of SiO2. Spectra obtained from the cobalt and titanium oxide supported catalysts revealed adsorption sites exist on the oxide surfaces through which the molecule binds via the aldehyde group. These sites are believed to be the active sites for alcohol production. In the case of Co3O4 ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray absorption spectroscopy reveal a reduction of the oxide surface under reaction conditions indicating the adsorption sites on the oxide exist on a reduced surface, additional evidence for the site being an O-vacancy.
To better understand the interplay between the formation of the two alcohols a Pt nanoparticle density dependence study was undertaken for the Co3O4 case. It was observed that increasing the Pt density, thus increasing the ratio of interface to oxide surface sites, led to an increase in butanol and decrease in crotyl alcohol production. From this it is proposed that butanol forms at the Pt-oxide interface while the crotyl alcohol forms via the spillover mechanism at an oxide site.
Lastly a before undiscovered example of encapsulation of a metal particle by an oxide support is observed for the Pt/Co3O4 system by ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Under mild conditions an encapsulated state is reached in which the oxide covers the Pt surface, yet does not inhibit reactivity. In fact the total activity of the catalyst increases dramatically and a change in product selectivity was observed. By SFG it is seen that the features of a Pt bound butyraldehyde intermediate increase in intensity, which is directly correlated to a 3-fold increase in butyraldehyde activity.
This work builds on a vast knowledge of catalyst-support interactions in heterogeneous catalysis by applying in-situ techniques to yield a molecular level understanding of the surface processes.
