A New Type of Strong Metal–Support Interaction and the Production of H 2 through the Transformation of Water on Pt/CeO 2 (111) and Pt/CeO x /TiO 2 (110) Catalysts

The electronic properties of Pt nanoparticles deposited on CeO(2)(111) and CeO(x)/TiO(2)(110) model catalysts have been examined using valence photoemission experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The valence photoemission and DFT results point to a new type of "strong metal-support interaction" that produces large electronic perturbations for small Pt particles in contact with ceria and significantly enhances the ability of the admetal to dissociate the O-H bonds in water. When going from Pt(111) to Pt(8)/CeO(2)(111), the dissociation of water becomes a very exothermic process. The ceria-supported Pt(8) appears as a fluxional system that can change geometry and charge distribution to…