Enhancement of catalytic toluene combustion over Pt–Co3O4 catalyst through in-situ metal-organic template conversion

A Pt–Co3O4 catalyst named Pt–Co(OH)2–O was prepared by metal-organic templates (MOTs) conversion and used for catalytic oxidation of toluene. Through the conversion, the morphology of catalysts transformed from rhombic dodecahedron to nanosheet and the coated Pt nanoparticles (NPs) were more exposed. The Binding energy shift in XPS test indicates that the strong metal-support strong interaction (SMSI) has enhanced, and the physicochemical changes caused by it are characterized by other techniques. At the same time, Pt–Co(OH)2–O showed the best catalytic performance (T50 = 157 °C, T90 = 167 °C, Ea = 40.85 kJ mol−1, TOFPt = 2.68 × 10−3 s−1) and good stability. In addition, the in situ Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) studies have shown that because SMSI weakened the Co–O bond, the introduction of Pt NPs can make the migration of oxygen in the catalyst easier. The change of binding energy change and the content of various species in the quasi in situ XPS experiment further confirmed that the Pt–Co(OH)2–O catalyst has stronger SMSI, resulting in its stronger electron transfer ability and oxygen migration ability, which is conducive to catalytic reactions. This work provides new ideas for the development of supported catalysts and provides a theoretical reference for the relevant verification of SMSI. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd