High-efficiency Pt/ZrO ₂ catalysts with a mixed phase were successfully prepared. The catalysts exhibited high activity and their interfacial structure can change the reaction pathway.

The quest for efficient non-Pt/Pd catalysts has proved to be a formidable challenge for auto-exhaust purification. Herein, we present an approach to construct a robust catalyst by embedding single-atom Ru sites onto the surface of CeO₂ through a gas bubbling-assisted membrane deposition method. The formed single-atom Ru sites, which occupy surface lattice sites of CeO₂, can improve activation efficiency for NO and O₂. Remarkably, the Ru₁/CeO₂ catalyst exhibits exceptional catalytic performance and stability during auto-exhaust carbon particle oxidation (soot), rivaling commercial Pt-based catalysts. The turnover frequency (0.218 h⁻¹) is a nine-fold increase relative to the Ru nanoparticle catalyst. We further show that the strong interfacial charge transfer within the atomically dispersed Ru active site greatly enhances the rate-determining step of NO oxidation, resulting in a substantial reduction of the apparent activation energy during soot oxidation. The single-atom Ru catalyst represents a step toward reducing dependence on Pt/Pd-based catalysts.

The exploration of active interfaces has attracted wide attention, especially in the field of catalysis. In this work, Ni/Fe layered double oxide supported Pt nanoparticles (Pt/LDO(N)) were prepared using a hydrothermal and colloid-impregnation method. The Pt/LDO(N) catalyst exhibited remarkable long-term catalytic stability and activity for HCHO oxidation compared with Pt/Fe₂O₃ and Pt/NiO. The Pt species were well dispersed on the LDO support, and strongly interacted with Fe and Ni by forming an active Pt–Fe/Ni interface. O₂ dissociation could happen at the active interface by creating coordinatively unsaturated iron sites, further providing adequate O⁻/O₂ ⁻ species to take part in HCHO oxidation. The in situ DRIFTS results indicated that the dioxymethylene and formate species were the main reaction intermediates, which could be further oxidized into CO₂ and H₂O through the involvement of active oxygen.