Tuning the selectivity of NH3 oxidation via cooperative electronic interactions between platinum and copper sites

Lu Chen (), Xuze Guan, Zhaofu Fei, Hiroyuki Asakura, Lun Zhang, Zhipeng Wang, Xinlian Su, Zhangyi Yao, Luke L. Keenan, Shusaku Hayama, Matthijs A. Spronsen, Burcu Karagoz, Georg Held, Christopher S. Allen, David G. Hopkinson, Donato Decarolis, June Callison, Paul J. Dyson () and Feng Ryan Wang ()
Additional contact information
Lu Chen: University College London
Xuze Guan: University College London
Zhaofu Fei: École Polytechnique Fedérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Hiroyuki Asakura: Higashi-Osaka
Lun Zhang: University College London
Zhipeng Wang: University College London
Xinlian Su: University College London
Zhangyi Yao: University College London
Luke L. Keenan: Chilton
Shusaku Hayama: Chilton
Matthijs A. Spronsen: Chilton
Burcu Karagoz: Chilton
Georg Held: Chilton
Christopher S. Allen: Chilton
David G. Hopkinson: Chilton
Donato Decarolis: Chilton
June Callison: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Paul J. Dyson: École Polytechnique Fedérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Feng Ryan Wang: University College London

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Selective catalytic oxidation (SCO) of NH3 to N2 is one of the most effective methods used to eliminate NH3 emissions. However, achieving high conversion over a wide operating temperature range while avoiding over-oxidation to NOx remains a significant challenge. Here, we report a bi-metallic surficial catalyst (PtSCuO/Al2O3) with improved Pt atom efficiency that overcomes the limitations of current catalysts. It achieves full NH3 conversion at 250 °C with a weight hourly space velocity of 600 ml NH3·h−1·g−1, which is 50 °C lower than commercial Pt/Al2O3, and maintains high N2 selectivity through a wide temperature window. Operando XAFS studies reveal that the surface Pt atoms in PtSCuO/Al2O3 enhance the redox properties of the Cu species, thus accelerating the Cu2+ reduction rate and improving the rate of the NH3-SCO reaction. Moreover, a synergistic effect between Pt and Cu sites in PtSCuO/Al2O3 contributes to the high selectivity by facilitating internal selective catalytic reduction.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54820-y Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-54820-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54820-y

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().