The metal–support interaction induced catalytic activity enhancement of Pt/TiO2 for hydrogen production from formic acid

Abstract

The synthesis of noble metal/TiO₂ composites without the use of additional reducing agents or surfactants is a notable achievement in catalyst preparation, as it simplifies the process and reduces potential impurities. A detailed analysis of catalysts using a range of methods like XRD, TEM, XPS, BET, and FT-IR offers a comprehensive insight into their structural and surface characteristics, essential for understanding their catalytic performance. The observation of enhanced catalytic activity with Pt-loaded composite catalysts compared to Pd and Au-loaded counterparts highlights the importance of noble metal selection in catalytic applications. Through BET and TEM characterization, it can be observed that there is no significant difference between the specific surface area of all noble metal/TiO₂ composites and the size of the noble metal, which ranges from 2–7 nm. The correlation between the catalytic efficiency and the metal work function, along with the insights from XPS analysis, underscores the significance of the metal–titanium dioxide interaction in determining catalytic efficiency. This interaction may involve tuning the surface's electronic structure, the chemical bonding between the metal and the carrier, and the formation of surface active sites. These sites can adsorb reactants and facilitate the reaction, thus improving the catalytic activity and selectivity. This study provides an in-depth understanding and an important reference for the design and optimization of catalysts for hydrogen production from formic acid, which can help promote progress and applications in related fields.