Efficient catalytic combustion of propane at low temperature based on ignition effect caused by amorphous atomic-layer Pt clusters

Developing highly active catalysts for hydrocarbon combustion at low temperatures is paramount but yet challenging. The crystal form of carrier and the dispersion degree of active species have great influence on propane combustion catalysts, but its internal mechanism is still unclear. In this study, the amorphous atomic-layer Pt clusters (AL) and Pt single atoms (SA) on TiO2 with various crystal phases were prepared and used as propane combustion catalysts, where the as-synthesized Pt/a-TiO2 catalyst with atomic-layer Pt clusters exhibited better catalytic performance. The Pt/a-TiO2-AL could achieve a 90 % propane conversion (T90) at 230 °C, with the highest reaction rate (39.57 × 10−7 mol g−1 s−1) and TOF value (7.72 × 10−2 s−1) at 240 °C. Kinetic studies showed that oxygen had a lower inhibitory effect on Pt/a-TiO2-AL compared to that on the Pt/p-TiO2-AL and Pt/r-TiO2-AL catalysts; simultaneously, the Pt/a-TiO2-AL catalyst presented lower apparent activation energy compared with Pt/a-TiO2-SA. DFT results showed that atomic-layer Pt clusters on TiO2 had the lower formation energy of oxygen vacancy than Pt single atoms due to the synergistic effect between adjacent exposed Pt atoms in the fully exposed atomic-layer Pt clusters, which had a higher activation capacity for oxygen and thus accelerated propane combustion through the ignition effect (rapid activation of oxygen and rapid combustion of propane). Our primary results provide a promising approach for the creation of high-efficiency Pt-based catalysts, specifically tailored for the catalytic combustion of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).