Dual Activation of Molecular Oxygen and Surface Lattice Oxygen in Single Atom Cu1/TiO2 Catalyst for CO Oxidation

Abstract

AbstractThe in‐depth mechanism on the simultaneous activation of O2 and surface lattice O2− on one active metallic site has not been elucidated yet. Herein, we report a strategy for the construction of abundant oxygen activation sites by rational design of Cu1/TiO2 single atom catalysts (SACs). The charge transfer between isolated Cu and TiO2 support generates abundant CuI and 2‐coordinated Olat sites in Cu1−O−Ti hybridization structure, which facilitates the chemisorption and activation of O2 molecules. Simultaneously, the Cu1−O−Ti induced TiO2 lattice distortion activate the adjacent surface lattice O2−, achieving the dual activation of O2 and surface lattice O2−. The Cu1−O−Ti active site switches the CO oxidation mechanism from Eley‐Rideal (80 °C) to Mars–van Krevelen route (200 °C) with the increase of reaction temperature. The dual activation of O2 and surface lattice O2− can by modulating the electron properties of SACs can boost the heterogeneous catalytic oxidation activity.