Boosting the catalysis of gold supported on perovskites by strong metal-support interaction

Gold catalysts show excellent selectivity in chemoselective hydrogenation reactions. However, their reactivity and stability are relatively inferior to Pt-group metal catalysts due to the moderate hydrogen activation and carbonaceous deposits. Herein, we reported that the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) between gold nanoparticles and perovskites can increase the catalytic performance of gold-based catalysts in 3-nitrostyrene chemoselective hydrogenation reaction. HAADF-STEM elemental mapping images and line scan profiles confirmed that the oxide support can partially cover the surface of gold NPs, increasing the interfacial area between gold NPs and perovskites support. H2-D2 exchange reaction, reaction kinetic analysis and density functional theory calculations revealed that the apparent activation energy of 3-NS chemoselective hydrogenation reaction over gold supported on perovskites with SMSI effect was significantly decreased by the more facile H2 dissociation, 3-NS and its’ intermediate activation at the increased interface. This discovery of SMSI effect in Au and perovskites offers new insights into tuning performance of gold-based catalysts via changing the types of metal ions in perovskites.