Surface Science Studies on the Zirconia-Based Model Catalysts

Zirconia possesses ideal chemical and mechanical stability properties. It has been widely used in many technical applications such as gas sensors, protective coatings and heterogeneous catalysis. In particular, in heterogeneous catalysis, zirconia has been used in many catalytic reactions not only as the metal catalysts' support but also as the pure catalyst; it can be also used as an additive to improve the catalytic performances of the catalysts. To gain fundamental understanding of the roles that zirconia plays in catalysis, significant surface science studies based on zirconia model catalysts have been performed. In this paper, we will present a short review of recent surface science studies on the zirconia-based model catalysts. These model catalysts include single crystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia surfaces, zirconia thin films which were grown on metal single crystal surfaces and zirconia-supported metal catalysts. Besides the focuses on the surface chemistry of model zirconia surfaces, the surface structures and adsorption/reaction properties of the zirconia-supported metal catalysts will be also addressed.