催化学报 ›› 2026, Vol. 88: 478-491.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65120-0

• 论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

CeO2/Co3O4催化剂界面相互作用的尺寸依赖性: 从单原子到纳米颗粒

曾悦, 王泓升, 轩靖, 肖萍, 冯瑶瑶, 吕帅*(), 朱君江*()   

  1. 武汉纺织大学化学与化工学院, 废旧纤维清洁再生与资源化湖北省重点实验室, 湖北武汉 430200
  • 收稿日期:2025-12-08 接受日期:2026-02-09 出版日期:2026-09-18 发布日期:2026-09-05
  • 通讯作者: *电子信箱: shuailyu@wtu.edu.cn (吕帅),
    jjzhu@wtu.edu.cn (朱君江).
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金(42277485);国家自然科学基金(22102220);湖北省中央引导地方科技发展专项(2024CSA084)

Size-dependent interfacial interactions in CeO2/Co3O4 catalysts: From single atoms to nanoparticles

Yue Zeng, Hongsheng Wang, Jing Xuan, Ping Xiao, Yaoyao Feng, Shuai Lyu*(), Junjiang Zhu*()   

  1. Hubei Key Laboratory for Clean Recycling and Resource Utilization of Waste Fibers, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, Hubei, China
  • Received:2025-12-08 Accepted:2026-02-09 Online:2026-09-18 Published:2026-09-05
  • Supported by:
    The National Natural Science Foundation of China(42277485);The National Natural Science Foundation of China(22102220);The Department of Science and Technology of Hubei Province(2024CSA084)

摘要:

CeO2/Co3O4复合氧化物在催化氧化反应中展现出媲美贵金属的催化潜力, 但界面相互作用的原子尺度起源仍存在争议. 电子转移方向、氧活化机制以及缺陷结构的形成路径等问题长期悬而未决. 针对这些问题, 本研究通过精确构筑Co3O4负载的单原子Ce与CeO2纳米颗粒两种截然不同的界面模型, 从原子尺度揭示了Ce物种尺寸对界面相互作用的调控本质, 明确了长期以来关于电子转移方向的争议, 并为理性设计高性能氧化物-氧化物催化剂提供了新的认识.
本文采用离子交换法结合水热过程, 成功在Co3O4表面实现了Ce单原子的原子级分散及CeO2纳米颗粒的尺寸可控负载. 球差校正电镜、X-射线吸收谱及X-射线光电子能谱等表征结合密度泛函理论计算发现, 单原子Ce主要以Ce3+形态选择性占据Co3O4尖晶石结构的八面体Co3+位点. 由于Ce3+半径远大于Co3+, 这一取代诱发局域压缩应变, 显著降低相邻位点氧空位形成能(由2.1 eV降至0.96 eV), 促进Ce3+-Vₒ-Co活性位点的形成. 更为关键的是, Ce3+作为强电子供体, 将Co的d带中心由-2.04 eV上移至-1.75 eV, 显著增强了向O2反键轨道的电子注入能力, 使O2键级降至1.5, 解离能垒由3.83 eV大幅下降至1.87 eV. 相比之下, CeO2纳米颗粒与Co3O4形成扩展界面, 电子注入范围更广但Ce3+比例较低. 电子由CeO2向Co3O4的迁移引发界面Co3+向Co2+的还原, 伴随八面体向四面体结构的转变; 当这一电子注入速率超过结构弛豫速率时, 晶格发生局域塌陷, 在CeO2/Co3O4界面形成缺陷乃至非晶区. 该结构演化对CeO2尺寸高度敏感: 2.4 nm颗粒产生界面点缺陷, 7.3 nm颗粒则诱导非晶区域形成, 氧迁移率随之提升, 但Ce3+比例由25.15%降至18.68%. 苯甲醇氧化反应结果显示, 单原子催化剂活性是纳米颗粒催化剂的1.5倍, 表观活化能低27.7 kJ/mol, 且Ce归一化活性高出近两个数量级, 证实电子效应对本征活性的主导作用远高于界面重构.
综上, 本文揭示了单原子与纳米颗粒两种截然不同的促进机制: 前者以局域电子效应为核心, 后者以界面离子迁移驱动的结构重组为主导. 这一发现不仅明确了CeO2/Co3O4界面作用中长期存在的争议, 更揭示了氧化物催化中“尺寸决定路径”的普适性规律. 未来研究可进一步拓展至其他稀土-过渡金属氧化物体系, 探索利用单原子掺杂或限域界面工程协同优化电子供给与氧迁移能力的可行路径, 为设计新一代高效、低成本氧化催化剂提供原子尺度的理论依据与实验范式.

关键词: 四氧化三钴催化剂, 二氧化铈, 催化氧化, 界面重构, 单原子, 纳米颗粒

Abstract:

Although CeO2/Co3O4 composites exhibit excellent catalytic performance in oxidation reactions, the atomic-scale origin of their interfacial interactions remains unclear. In this work, we compare two contrasting catalysts: Co3O4-supported Ce single atoms and Co3O4-supported CeO2 nanoparticles. We reveal that these two forms of Ce promote catalytic performance through different mechanisms. Ce single atoms occupy the octahedral Co3+ sites within the Co3O4 structure, forming Ce3+-Vo-Co active sites and thereby induce local compressive strain and facilitate the formation of point-defective oxygen vacancies. More importantly, Ce3+ acts as an electron donor, elevating the d-band center of Co and facilitating O2 activation via enhanced electron transfer to O2 antibonding orbitals. In contrast, the extensive interfacial contact between CeO2 nanoparticles and Co3O4 triggers ion migration, which subsequently generates defects or amorphous interfacial domains with high oxygen mobility. The configuration of interfacial defects is highly dependent on the size of CeO2 nanoparticles. Catalytic tests for the liquid-phase aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol confirm the superior performance of the single-atom catalyst, which exhibits 1.5 times higher activity and a 27.7 kJ/mol lower activation energy than its CeO2 nanoparticle counterpart. Our findings demonstrate that the interaction between Ce species and Co3O4 is dominated by electronic effects when Ce is atomically dispersed, whereas interfacial reconstruction becomes predominant with increasing CeO2 nanoparticles size.

Key words: Co3O4 catalyst, CeO2, Catalytic oxidation, Interface reconstruction, Single atoms, Nanoparticles