Oxide-supported metal thin film catalysts: The how and why?

Oxide-supported metallic catalysts are important for enhancing and controlling many industrial chemical processes, such as reducing automotive. The effect of altering the polarization at a Pt/alumina interface on the properties at the Pt surface was studied as a function of Pt layers. Significant enhancement of the binding of CO to platinum on the positively charged surface, returning to bulk behavior at four or more layers was shown. The negatively charged surface, however, showed a decrease in the CO chemisorption energy for a bilayer of platinum. The changes in CO binding energies were related to the changes in the metal density of states due to charge transfer between the metal and the underlying oxide. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 228th ACS National Meeting (Philadelphia, PA, 8/22-26/2004).