Room Temperature Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide with 100% Efficiency

September 22, 2015

What Is The Scientific Achievement?

enlarge

Top) Schematic illustration of the two oxidation reaction regimes within the PtFe-FeO_x/TiO₂ system. Bottom) This new nanomaterials system could have a profound impact on the reduction of carbon monoxide pollution, improving air quality.

Ultra-thin 1-dimensional (1D) nanowires (NWs) have emerged as a new class of effective nanoscale catalysts, exhibiting impressive activity and durability, as demonstrated by their excellent performance in fuel cell reactions.  A collaborative effort among scientists from Oak Ridge National Lab, the University of Tennessee, Zhejiang University of Technology, and CFN has produced unique 1D, core-shell PtFe-FeO_x NW_s, supported on a TiO₂ substrate, that yield highly efficient, room temperature carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation. Atomic level interactions between the PtFe core and the FeO_x shell and interactions between the NWs and the TiO₂ substrate enabled CO oxidation with 100% conversion efficiency at room temperature.  Additionally, after 30 hours in the reaction environment, the PtFe−FeO_x/TiO₂ NW catalyst exhibited no decay in the catalytic activity.  These results provide a general approach and new insights into the construction of hierarchical interfaces for advanced catalysis.  These results also could provide a highly efficient and potentially cost-effective means for carbon monoxide air pollution abatement and CO-based fuel cell operation.

Why Does This Matter?

These 1D nanostructures enable CO oxidation with 100% conversion efficiency at room temperature, which could provide insight into the production of hierarchical interfaces for advanced catalysis.  Further, this work could eventually lead to a highly efficient and cost-effective means for CO air pollution abatement.

What Are The Details?

• CFN Capabilities: The CFN Electron Microscopy Facility’s HD2700C Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope was used to characterize the samples.

Publication Reference

Constructing Hierarchical Interfaces: TiO2‑Supported PtFe−FeO_x Nanowires for Room Temperature CO Oxidation
Huiyuan Zhu,^*,^† Zili Wu,^†,^‡ Dong Su,^⊥ Gabriel M. Veith,^§ Hanfeng Lu,^# Pengfei Zhang,^† Song-Hai Chai,^∥ and Sheng Dai^†,^∥

^† Chemical Sciences Division, ^‡ Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, and ^§ Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
^∥ Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
^⊥Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
^# Institute of Catalytic Reaction Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, China

Journal of the American Chemical Society 137, 10156 (2015)

Acknowledgment of Support

H.Z. was supported by Liane B. Russell Fellowship sponsored by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy. Z.W. and S.D. were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division. Part of the work, including the DRIFTS study, was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. Electron Microscopy work used resources of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, which is a U.S. DOE Office of Science Facility, at Brookhaven National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-SC0012704. Part of the work (XPS-GMV) was supported by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science and Engineering.

2015-5952  |  INT/EXT  |  Newsroom