Single-atom Pt-CeO2/Co3O4 catalyst with ultra-low Pt loading and high performance for toluene removal

The design and manufacture of high activity and thermal stability catalysts with minimal precious metal loading is essential for deep degradation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this paper, a novel single-atom Pt-CeO2/Co3O4 catalyst with ultra-low Pt loading capacity (0.06 wt%, denoted as 0.06Pt-SA) was fabricated via one-step co-precipitation method. The 0.06Pt-SA exhibited excellent toluene degradation activity of T90 = 169 degrees C, matched with the nanoparticle Pt-supported CeO2/Co3O4 catalyst with more than six times higher Pt loading (0.41 wt%, denoted as 0.41Pt-NP). Moreover, the ultra-long durability (toluene conversion remains 99% after 120 h stability test) and excellent toluene degradation ability in a wide space speed range of 0.06Pt-SA were superior to that of 0.41Pt-NP catalyst. The excellent performance was derived from the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) between the single atomic Pt and the carrier, which induced more Pt0 and Ce3+ for oxygen activation and more Co3+ for toluene removal. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS) experiments confirmed that the conversion of intermediates was accelerated in the reaction process, thereby promoting the toluene degradation. Our results should inspire the exploitation of noble single-atomic modification strategy for developing the low cost and high performance VOCs catalyst.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A novel single-atom Pt-CeO2/Co3O4 catalyst with ultra-low Pt loading (0.06Pt-SA) was fabricated, showing excellent toluene degradation activity and ultra-long durability. The strong metal-support interaction between single atomic Pt and the carrier contributed to the superior performance of the catalyst by enhancing oxygen activation and toluene removal. This study provides inspiration for the development of low-cost and high-performance VOCs catalyst with noble single-atomic modification strategy.