A new class of catalysts has emerged from the published study of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Far from ordinary industrial catalysts, the newly designed and fabricated catalyst can speed up the oxidation process of carbon monoxide by nine times.

In the new treatment process the team developed, Ji Su, a research scientist at Berkeley Lab, described it as “like mounting a diamond on a support structure on a ring.” They loaded a single platinum atom onto a specific spot on a cerium oxide surface, replacing a cerium atom with platinum. Then, they added hydrogen molecules to the new platinum-cerium structure, splitting into atoms that bond with the cerium. 

Speed, however, was not the only win. The new catalyst was also more selective. It is 2.3 times more efficient at converting propane into propylene, a vital ingredient in plastic manufacturing. Having more selectivity is advantageous as it means more of what is needed and less waste or byproducts.

To ensure the effectiveness and reliability of the catalyst, the team relied on powerful tools of the Molecular Foundry’s high-resolution imaging and the Advanced Light Source’s spectroscopy techniques. These tools helped confirm that the platinum has a +2 charge and was positioned exactly where it needed to be. Additional testing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Taiwan’s National Synchrotron Radiation Center added even more detail to the picture.

This research builds on years of work from Su’s research group, culminating in a series of eight studies since 2019. It was done under Berkeley Lab’s Catalysis Program and funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. 

Read the full article here to learn more about the new catalyst design.

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