Selectively located Pt clusters on Au/CeO2 for highly robust water-gas shift reaction via atomic layer deposition

Au catalysts have shown outstanding low temperature catalytic activity toward water-gas shift (WGS) reaction, but they are struggling with the durability concerns. Herein, Pt clusters are selectively located on Au/CeO2 through atomic layer deposition method to activate the interfacial active sites poisoned by intermediate species. The selective method effectively avoids the coverage of Au surface sites by Pt atoms and maintains the low temperature catalytic activity of Au/CeO2 catalyst. Durability test indicates that the Pt-activated Au/CeO2 catalyst shows superior durability in WGS atmosphere (200 ºC), which only attenuates 7.9% (from 78.0% to 70.1%) after 150 hours. The analysis of surface intermediates and density functional theory calculations reveal that the introduction of Pt ensures the regenerative capacity of Au/CeO2 active sites by facilitating the decomposition of intermediate species and the desorption of CO2.