Unveiling Highly Sensitive Active Site in Atomically Dispersed Gold Catalysts for Enhanced Ethanol Dehydrogenation

Developing a desirable ethanol dehydrogenation process necessitates a highly efficient and selective catalyst with low cost. Herein, we show that the "complex active site" consisting of atomically dispersed Au atoms with the neighboring oxygen vacancies (Vo) and undercoordinated cation on oxide supports can be prepared and display unique catalytic properties for ethanol dehydrogenation. The "complex active site" Au-Vo-Zr³⁺ on Au₁/ZrO₂ exhibits the highest H₂ production rate, with above 37,964 mol H₂ per mol Au per hour (385 g H₂ g Au - 1 ${{\rm{g}}_{{\rm{Au}}}^{ - 1} }$ h^-1) at 350 °C, which is 3.32, 2.94 and 15.0 times higher than Au₁/CeO₂, Au₁/TiO₂, and Au₁/Al₂O₃, respectively. Combining experimental and theoretical studies, we demonstrate the structural sensitivity of these complex sites by assessing their selectivity and activity in ethanol dehydrogenation. Our study sheds new light on the design and development of cost-effective and highly efficient catalysts for ethanol dehydrogenation. Fundamentally, atomic-level catalyst design by colocalizing catalytically active metal atoms forming a structure-sensitive "complex site", is a crucial way to advance from heterogeneous catalysis to molecular catalysis. Our study advanced the understanding of the structure sensitivity of the active site in atomically dispersed catalysts.