A research group led by Prof. QIAO Botao from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed a new method for large-scale production of thermally stable single-atom catalysts (SACs) with high metal loading. Their findings were published in Nature Communications on Mar. 9.
SACs can maximize precious metal utilization and generate well-defined and uniform active sites. However, large-scale production of thermally stable SACs, especially in a simple way, remains a challenge.
The researchers mixed RuO2 powder with high surface Fe-containing spinel support. After high-temperature calcination (900 oC), they found that the submicron RuO2 powder directly dispersed into Ru single atoms.
Large-scale production of thermally stable single-atom catalysts by physical mixture method. (Image by LIU Kaipeng)
Detailed studies revealed that different from the traditional gas atom trapping approach, the dispersion of RuO2 was promoted, and the atom was trapped and stabilized by a strong covalent metal-support interaction with FeOx in the spinel support.
In addition, the obtained Ru SAC showed excellent thermal stability and improved activity for N2O decomposition.
This environmentally friendly and low-cost preparation method could achieve kilogram-level production of commercial Fe2O3 supported Ru SAC. It paves a way for the large-scale production of thermally stable SACs for industrial applications. (Text by LIU Kaipeng)