Collaborative modulation of support properties and oxygen vacancies in Au-TiO2 catalysts through ethanol assisting for boosting the water‐gas shift performance
摘要
TiO2-supported Au catalysts (Au-TiO2) are considered as good candidates for the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction. In general, the structures and properties of TiO2 supports are essential for optimizing the performance of Au-TiO2 catalysts. Herein, an ethanol-assisted hydrothermal strategy is reported to fabricate a series of Au-TiO2-X catalysts (where X stands for the concentration of ethanol) with different structural properties by adjusting the ethanol dosage. Among the catalysts, Au-TiO2-0.75 exhibits the highest activity for the WGS reaction, accompanied by an extended catalytic stability after four cycles. Meanwhile, Au-TiO2-0.75 also exhibits superior intrinsic activity, as evidenced by higher reaction rates of CO elimination and lower apparent activation energies. According to systematic characterizations, the optimized catalyst Au-TiO2-0.75 with moderate ethanol assistance displays the smallest support size, the highest Au dispersion, as well as the largest number of Au+ sites and abundant oxygen vacancies (Ov) near the surface of TiO2, thereby enhancing the WGS reaction. This work provides a novel approach to engineering the catalyst interface structure for efficient WGS reactions.
Graphic abstract