Enhanced Stability and Catalytic Performance of Active Rh Sites on Al2O3 Via Atomic Layer Deposited ZrO2

Modulating the Rh active sites on surfaces of Al2O3 is crucial to developing effective three-way catalysts. Herein, an ultralow amount of ZrO2 (0.0179%) was deposited onto Al2O3 nanorods via atomic layer deposition (ALD) to form a catalyst with both thermal stability and low-temperature activity. The results demonstrate that the ALD-ZrO2 is conducive to improve the catalytic activity of the Rh site and inhibit the formation of irreducible Rh species at high temperature. The obtained catalysts show satisfactory performance for a model NO-CO reaction even after thermal aging at 1050 degrees C. This strategy shows that a molecularly precise synthesis can lead to the robust promotion of Rh activity under low temperature and provide a promising path toward reducing the deactivation of catalysts at high temperature.

Automated summary

Depositing an ultralow amount of ZrO2 on Al2O3 nanorods via atomic layer deposition (ALD) can enhance the catalytic activity of Rh active sites, inhibit the formation of irreducible Rh species at high temperature, and thus achieve thermal stability and low-temperature activity of the catalyst.