Boosting reactivity of water-gas shift reaction by synergistic function over CeO2-x/CoO1-x/Co dual interfacial structures

Abstract Dual-interfacial structure within catalysts is capable of mitigating the detrimentally completive adsorption during the catalysis process, but its construction strategy and mechanism understanding remain vastly lacking. Here, a highly active dual-interfaces of CeO 2- x /CoO 1- x /Co is constructed using the pronounced interfacial interaction from surrounding small CeO 2- x islets, which shows high activity in catalyzing the water-gas shift reaction. Kinetic evidence and in-situ characterization results revealed that CeO 2- x modulates the oxidized state of Co species and consequently generates the dual active CeO 2- x /CoO 1- x /Co interface during the WGS reaction. A synergistic redox mechanism comprised of independent contribution from dual functional interfaces, including CeO 2- x /CoO 1- x and CoO 1- x /Co, is authenticated by experimental and theoretical results, where the CeO 2- x /CoO 1- x interface alleviates the CO poison effect, and the CoO 1- x /Co interface promotes the H 2 formation. The results may provide guidance for fabricating dual-interfacial structures within catalysts and shed light on the mechanism over multi-component catalyst systems.