WO3 boosted water tolerance of Pt nanoparticle on SO42--ZrO2 for propane oxidation

H2O poisoning of platinum-based catalysts for VOCs oxidation is a long-standing problem due to H2O strongly competitive adsorption on active sites. In this work, it is found that the H2O competitive adsorption on Pt active sites is effectively weakened by enhancing strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) in Pt-based catalyst. SMSI between WO3 and Pt species occurs in the WO3 supported Pt catalyst (Pt/WO3) but disappears in Pt-3W/ZrO2 due to monolayer dispersed WO3 on ZrO2. The formation of aggregated WO3 species in Pt-3W/SO42--ZrO2 leads to the SMSI which is further enhanced by SO42--ZrO2. The enhanced SMSI plays critical role on weakening water vapor adsorption on active sites, thus Pt-3W/SO42--ZrO2 exhibits both highest activity (T90 = 200 °C) and water tolerance which is much superior than Pt/ZrO2, Pt/WO3, Pt-3W/ZrO2 and Pt/SO42--ZrO2 under wet condition (5% H2O). Our primary results provide a promising strategy for designing superior platinum catalysts for VOCs complete oxidation.