The dynamics of overlayer formation on catalyst nanoparticles and strong metal-support interaction

Beck et al Nature Communications volume 11, Article number: 3220 (2020)  Reproduced with permission from Springer Nature

The SMSI effect was studied on an actual platinum-titania catalyst by state-of-the-art characterization techniques aided by density functional theory calculations, providing a novel real time view on how the phenomenon occurs. It was found that exposure to oxygen segregates the titanium from the alloy, and a thicker titania overlayer forms. This role of oxygen in the formation process and stabilization of the overlayer provides new application potential in catalysis and materials science. Full article as open access is available via
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17070-2