Isotopic Oxygen Exchange Study to Unravel Noble Metal Oxide/Support Interactions: The Case of RuO2 and IrO2 Nanoparticles Supported on CeO2, TiO2 and YSZ

Abstract The aim of this study is to unravel the mechanism of (noble metal oxide)/(active support) interactions for catalytic purposes. Hence, isotopic oxygen exchange (IOE) tests were performed on Iridium‐ and ruthenium‐based oxides supported on cerium oxide (CeO 2 ), titanium oxide (TiO 2 ), and yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ). IOE tests demonstrated the metal oxide support involvement in the propane oxidation reaction, with YSZ‐based catalysts showing the highest exchange rate of oxygen, while CeO 2 and TiO 2 ‐based catalysts had a less diffusion of lattice oxygen in that order. This is related to the presence of extrinsic oxygen vacancies in the YSZ‐based catalysts and the reduction ability of the CeO 2 and TiO 2 supports. Despite the limitations on oxygen exchange in some of the noble/metal oxide catalysts, their catalytic performance was comparable to the ones that showed a high oxygen exchange. Therefore, active supports results in a higher engagement of oxygen from the support but not in a linear correlation with the catalytic performance of the metal/support.