Ultrathin Titania Coating for High-temperature Stable $SiO_2$/Pt Nanocatalysts

Recently, demand for thermally stable metal nanoparticles suitable for chemical reactions at high temperatures has increased to the point to require a solution to nanoparticle coalescence. Thermal stability of metal nanoparticles can be achieved by adopting core-shell models and encapsulating supported metal nanoparticles with mesoporous oxides [1,2]. However, to understand the role of metal-support interactions on catalytic activity and for surface analysis of complex structures, we developed a novel catalyst design by coating an ultra-thin layer of titania on Pt supported silica ($SiO_2/Pt@TiO_2$). This structure provides higher metal dispersion (~52% Pt/silica), high thermal stability (~600$^{\circ}C$) and maximization of the interaction between Pt and titania. The high thermal stability of $SiO_2/Pt@TiO_2$ enabled the investigation of CO oxidation studies at high temperatures, including ignition behavior, which is otherwise not possible on bare Pt nanoparticles due to sintering [3]. It was found that this hybrid catalyst exhibited a lower activation energy for CO oxidation because of the metal-support interaction. The concept of an ultra-thin active metal oxide coating on supported nanoparticles opens-up new avenues for synthesis of various hybrid nanocatalysts with combinations of different metals and oxides to investigate important model reactions at high-temperatures and in industrial reactions.