(The) role of metal-oxide interfaces of the mesoporous oxide and gold nanoparticles in catalytic activity under methanol oxidation

Abstract

The study about the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) effect has been reported actively. Here, we reveal the SMSI effect between Au nanoparticles and the mesoporous oxides under methanol oxidation. Au nanoparticle were used as a metal due to their nontoxicity and weak adsorption property, which lead to the green chemical reaction and selective reaction. Also the mesoporous structure was used as the support oxides because its extensive surface area and high crystallinity enhances the catalytic activity and inhibits an aggregation of deposited metal. Here, we synthesized a mesoporous oxide, including $Co_3O_4, NiO, Fe_2O_3$, via a nanocasting method using KIT-6 as hard template. Then, we deposited Au nanoparticles on them. Depending on the support oxide type, the different catalytic activity and selectivity was obtained. When pure mesoporous oxides were used as a catalyst in the methanol oxidation, the catalytic activity showed the trend of $Co_3O_4 > NiO > Fe_2O_3$. It is due to their redox capability of reducible oxides. However, when gold nanoparticles were deposited on, the catalytic activity exhibits the order of $Au/Fe_2O_3$ > Au/Co_3O_4 > Au/NiO$. It is result of the SMSI effect between the Au nanoparticle and the mesoporous oxides. These result can be applicable in tuning the catalytic activity by controlling the interface effect between the metal and oxide.