Photoinduced Strong Metal-Support Interaction for Enhanced Catalysis

Strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) construction is a pivotal strategy to afford thermally robust nanocatalysts in industrial catalysis, but thermally induced reactions (>300 degrees C) in specific gaseous atmospheres are generally required in traditional procedures. In this work, a photochemistry-driven methodology was demonstrated for SMSI construction under ambient conditions. Encapsulation of Pd nanoparticles with a TiOx overlayer, the presence of Ti3+ species, and suppression of CO adsorption were achieved upon UV irradiation. The key lies in the generation of separated photoinduced reductive electrons (e(-)) and oxidative holes (h(+)), which subsequently trigger the formation of Ti3+ species/oxygen vacancies (O-v) and then interfacial Pd-O-v-Ti3+ sites, affording a Pd/TiO2 SMSI with enhanced catalytic hydrogenation efficiency. The as-constructed SMSI layer was reversible, and the photodriven procedure could be extended to Pd/ZnO and Pt/TiO2.

Automated summary

This study demonstrated a photochemistry-driven method for constructing SMSI under ambient conditions, encapsulating Pd nanoparticles with a TiOx overlayer and enhancing catalytic hydrogenation efficiency through UV irradiation.