Novel strategy to regulate the geometric and electronic structure of Pt catalyst for efficient propane combustion

The geometric and electronic structure of Pt active sites plays a crucial role in determining the catalysts performance, but precise regulation remains challenging. Herein, we propose a novel approach to modulate the nature of Pt active sites by combining photo-deposition of Pt nanoparticles with ultra-low Mo loading (0.1wt%) modification on Pt/SiO2 catalysts. The addition of ultra-low loading Mo promoter not only effectively reduces the size of Pt particles but also donates electrons to the Pt particles. Furthermore, the photo-deposited Pt particles exhibit a higher proportion of metallic Pt species, which is more stable than that metallic Pt species obtained by H2 reduction, compared to those prepared using traditional wetness impregnation methods. Propane oxidation activity evaluations confirm that the photo-deposited and Mo-modified Pt/0.1Mo/SiO2-P catalyst exhibits the highest activity among all the prepared catalysts. Combined with experiments of C3H8-TPSR and in-situ DRIFT spectra of propane oxidation, it is found that the Pt/0.1Mo/SiO2-P catalyst remarkably promotes propane activation and C-H bond cleavage due to the nature change of Pt active sites, and the presence of gaseous oxygen benefits propane cleavage on active sites. Our primary results provide a promising strategy for designing superior platinum catalysts by regulating Pt active sites nature for efficient propane complete oxidation.