Catalytic Properties of Nanometric Metal Overlayers with Two-Dimensional Structures

Although most of the currently used solid catalysts possess a three-dimensional structure of nanoparticles dispersed on a porous support, the nanoparticle structure should not be considered the optimal structure for all catalytic reactions due to some disadvantages such as thermal instability and catalyst poisoning. Herein, we present the unique catalytic performance of a two-dimensional metal foil-supported nanometric Rh thin film, referred to as the Rh overlayer, for a catalytic CO-NO reaction and a stoichiometric three-way catalytic reaction under practical conditions. The extremely high turnover frequency for NO reduction using two-dimensional Rh is a key to understanding this phenomenon, the detailed mechanism of which can be explained by theoretical calculations. Nanometric metal overlayer on the Fe-Cr-Al metal foil prepared by pulsed arc plasma deposition enables easy fabrication of metal honeycomb catalysts, and the Rh overlayer shows excellent catalytic performance for CO-NO reaction and three-way catalytic reaction. The two-dimensional structure has an advantage in NO reduction with extremely high turnover frequency.image

Automated summary

Although most solid catalysts have a three-dimensional structure of nanoparticles dispersed on a porous support, this structure is not optimal for all catalytic reactions. This article introduces a unique catalytic performance of a two-dimensional metal foil-supported nanometric Rh thin film, which is particularly suitable for CO-NO reaction and three-way catalytic reaction.