Interstitial carbon-platinum electronic metal-support interaction structure boost synergistic removal of O3 and CH3SH via surface atomic oxygen

Abstract

Carbon atoms in the interstitial sites of metal nanoparticles have strong influence on heterogeneous catalysis via electronic metal-support interactions (EMSI). Here, the Pt catalysts with interstitial C-Pt EMSI structures were first developed and identified to boost the removal of ozone (O3) and methyl mercaptan (CH3SH). Experimental results showed that the intrinsic activity of the catalysts with low Pt loading (wt%, 0.95 %) was 186 times higher than that of commercial MnO2. This excellent catalytic performance was attributed to dual-site catalytic structures to promote the adsorption/activation of O3 at interstitial C and capture/oxidation of CH3SH at Pt simultaneously. More importantly, the interstitial C sites retained surface atomic oxygen (*O) with excellent reactivity and lowered the energy barrier of CS bond breakage, thus achieving efficient decomposition of CH3SH into CO2/SO42-. This work provides high-performance catalysts and new mechanistic insights for the synergistic control of O3 and CH3SH.