Sensitivity of CO oxidation toward metal oxidation state in ceria-supported catalysts: an operando DRIFTS-MS study

The oxidation of carbon monoxide has been studied on pristine CeO2, Rh-CeO2, and Pt-CeO2 powders prepared in one step by solution combustion synthesis (SCS). The reaction was cycled between an oxygenrich and a CO-rich feed with regard to the stoichiometric conditions. CO2 production was monitored by mass spectrometry, while the surface species were probed by operando DRIFTS (Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy). Whereas the reaction starts above 150 degrees C on CeO2 and Rh-CeO2 and does not depend on the state of the surface (oxidized or reduced), the reaction on Pt-CeO2 shows strong dependency on the initial state and substantial activity is achieved at much lower temperatures with the CO-rich feed. We relate this result to the change in the oxidation state of Pt via strong interaction with ceria.