Dynamic structure of active sites in ceria-supported Pt catalysts for the water gas shift reaction.

Oxide-supported noble metal catalysts have been extensively studied for decades for the water gas shift (WGS) reaction, a catalytic transformation central to a host of large volume processes that variously utilize or produce hydrogen. There remains considerable uncertainty as to how the specific features of the active metal-support interfacial bonding-perhaps most importantly the temporal dynamic changes occurring therein-serve to enable high activity and selectivity. Here we report the dynamic characteristics of a Pt/CeO system at the atomic level for the WGS reaction and specifically reveal the synergistic effects of metal-support bonding at the perimeter region. We find that the perimeter Pt - O vacancy-Ce sites are formed in the active structure, transformed at working temperatures and their appearance regulates the adsorbate behaviors. We find that the dynamic nature of this site is a key mechanistic step for the WGS reaction.