Interfacial Dependent Reactive Oxygen Species Generation over Pt-ZrO2 Nanoparticles for Catalytic Oxidation of Formaldehyde at Room Temperature

Producing the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) interface and highly reactive oxygen species is a great challenge for catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde (HCHO) at room temperature over supported metal catalysts. Herein, we report a conceptual oxygen vacancy (V-O) associated SMSI interface of Pt-ZrO2 nanoparticles for HCHO catalysis at room temperature, exhibiting interfacial dependent reactive oxygen species (O*) formation. The V-O on the ZrO2 support captures and activates the molecular O-2, then proceeds to generating the reactive oxygen atom (O*) with a lower activation barrier of 0.3 eV. The generated O* tends to link the (1 1 0) surface of ZrO2 and the (1 1 1) surface of Pt as an electronic transmission channel for the selective catalytic oxidation of HCHO adsorbed on the (1 1 0) surface of ZrO2, accelerating the direct generation of formate species and mineralization of HCHO. The Pt-V-O-ZrO2 achieves high HCHO removal and HCHO conversion (> 95%) at 20 degrees C. These findings will consolidate the fundamental theories of room temperature catalytic reactions via constructing the SMSI interface engineering for wide environmental applications.