Strong metal−support interaction (SMSI) construction is a pivotal strategy to afford thermally robust nanocatalysts in industrial catalysis, but thermally induced reactions (>300 °C) in specific gaseous atmospheres are generally required in traditional procedures. In this work, a photochemistry-driven methodology was demonstrated for SMSI construction under ambient conditions. Encapsulation of Pd nanoparticles with a TiO x overlayer, the presence of Ti 3+ species, and suppression of CO adsorption were achieved upon UV irradiation. The key lies in the generation of separated photoinduced reductive electrons (e − ) and oxidative holes (h + ), which subsequently trigger the formation of Ti 3+ species/oxygen vacancies (O v ) and then interfacial Pd−O v −Ti 3+ sites, affording a Pd/TiO 2 SMSI with enhanced catalytic hydrogenation efficiency. The as-constructed SMSI layer was reversible, and the photodriven procedure could be extended to Pd/ZnO and Pt/TiO 2 .

Although perovskite catalysts are well-known for their excellent redox property, their acid–base reactivity remains largely unknown. To explore the potential of perovskites in acid–base catalysis, we made a comprehensive investigation in this work on the acid–base properties and reactivity of a series of selected perovskites, SrTiO3, BaTiO3, SrZrO3, and BaZrO3, via a combination of various approaches including adsorption microcalorimetry, in situ FTIR spectroscopy, steady state kinetic measurements, and density functional theory (DFT) modeling. The perovskite surfaces are shown to be dominated with intermediate and strong basic sites with the presence of some weak Lewis acid sites, due to the preferred exposure of SrO/BaO on the perovskite surfaces as evidenced by low energy ion scattering (LEIS) measurements. Using the conversion of 2-propanol as a probe reaction, we found that the reaction is more selective to dehydrogenation over dehydration due to the dominant surface basicity of the perovskites. Furthermore, the adsorption energy of 2-propanol (ΔH ads,2–propanol ) is found to be related to both a bulk property (tolerance factor) and the synergy between surface acid and base sites. The results from in situ FTIR and DFT calculations suggest that both dehydration and dehydrogenation reactions occur mainly through the E1cB pathway, which involves the deprotonation of the alcohol group to form a common alkoxy intermediate on the perovskite surfaces. The results obtained in this work pave a path for further exploration and understanding of acid–base catalysis over perovskite catalysts.

Ceria has been used as a hydrogenation catalyst especially in selective alkyne hydrogenation, but the reaction mechanism regarding the role of different surface hydrogen species remains unclear. In this work, we utilized in situ neutron and infrared vibration spectroscopy to show the catalytic role of cerium hydride (Ce–H) and hydroxyl (OH) groups in acetylene hydrogenation over ceria surfaces with different degree of reduction. In situ inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopy (INS) proved that not only Ce–H but also surface atomic hydrogen species on the reduced ceria surface can participate in acetylene semihydrogenation. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) results implied that bridging OH groups both on the oxidized and reduced ceria are active in the selective hydrogenation of acetylene. It appears that surface Ce–H is more reactive than the coexisting OH species on the reduced ceria surface, but over-reduction of ceria also results in strongly bound species that may lead to catalyst deactivation. These spectroscopic results clearly explain the reaction mechanism including not only the surface chemistry but also the nature of the active hydrogen species for selective hydrogenation over ceria, providing insights into the design of more active and stable ceria-based catalysts for hydrogenation reactions.

Catalysts are inherently dynamic in nature, as they respond to the environment by changing their local and extended structures. Surface reconstruction is among such dynamic behaviors of catalysts and greatly affects the physical, chemical, and electronic properties of catalysts and consequently the catalytic performances. Thus, understanding the nature of the catalytic sites of the reconstructed surfaces is essential for establishing the structure–catalysis relations and has attracted much interest in catalysis research. Knowledge of the reconstruction of metal oxides has been quite limited in comparison to that of metal surfaces because the nature of oxide surfaces is generally more complex. However, significant progress has been made in recent years in oxide surfaces thanks to the advances in the ability to synthesize model oxide nanocrystals and to characterize the surface reconstruction behaviors under in situ and operando conditions with advanced spectroscopy and microscopy aided by computational modeling. In this Perspective, such advances in understanding the surface reconstruction behaviors of metal oxide nanoshapes and thin films with well-defined surface structures under as-synthesized, various pretreatment, and reaction environments will be summarized, and the catalytic consequences of these reconstructions will be highlighted. The results from these studies clearly show that the combination of model oxides and in situ/operando investigations is imperative in shaping the fundamental understanding of the dynamic reconstructions of oxide surfaces. However, it is still challenging to study the surface reconstructions of oxide catalysts with meaningful temporal and spatial resolution under operating conditions. Future opportunities are discussed on how to address the challenges and eventually help to design more efficient catalysts by taking advantages of the surface reconstructions.