Maximizing the Pt–CuO x interface by trace Cu boosts CO preferential oxidation

作者：Yake Lou, Zhihao Chen, Jia Shen, Yanglong Guo, Yang‐Long Guo, Wangcheng Zhan, Aiyong Wang, Núria J. Divins, Jordi Llorca, Li Wang, Yun Guo, Yun Guo · 发表于：Rare Metals · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1007/s12598-025-03308-9 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Catalytic Processes in Materials Science、Semiconductor materials and devices、Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

Preferential oxidation of CO (CO‐PROX) in H 2 ‐rich streams is highly important for purifying the industrial grade H 2 used in proton‐exchange‐membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), but it is still limited to a relatively narrow operation temperature window. In this study, the trace amounts of Cu are used to modify a Pt/Al 2 O 3 catalyst. The introduced Cu 2+ species are atomically anchored on Pt nanoparticles through strong electrostatic adsorption. The prepared Pt–Cu/Al 2 O 3 catalyst with 0.011 wt% Cu loading achieves complete CO oxidation between 138 and 215 °C, while the maximum CO conversion of Pt/Al 2 O 3 is only 94%. The characterization showed that the formation of the Pt–CuO x interface not only produced additional active sites for O 2 activation but also weakened the adsorption strength of CO due to Pt existing in an electron‐deficient state. The synergy at the interface of Pt–CuO x inhibits the competitive adsorption of CO and O 2 on Pt nanoparticles. Compared with CO oxidation, the presence of H 2 in CO‐PROX promotes CO oxidation through the formation of a formate (HCOO–) intermediate. The addition of Cu accelerates the HCOO– intermediate oxidation over Pt–Cu/Al 2 O 3 . The strategy of constructing metal‐oxide interfacial sites sheds light on designing better catalysts for the CO‐PROX reaction.