Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2026, Vol. 91: 396-411.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(26)65256-4

• Articles • Previous Articles    

Balancing lattice oxygen activation and surface reoxidation in lanthanide-Zn co-doped Pd/CeO2 single-atom catalysts for CO oxidation

Mengrong Li, Bram D. Bruininks, Ivo A. W. Filot*(), Emiel J. M. Hensen*()   

  1. Laboratory of Inorganic Materials and Catalysis, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
  • Received:2026-05-18 Accepted:2026-07-31 Online:2026-12-18 Published:2026-10-13

Abstract:

Ceria-supported Pd single-atom catalysts are promising for low-temperature CO oxidation in three-way catalysis, yet the fundamental trade-off between stability and activity remains poorly understood. Here, we systematically investigate the effect of lanthanide (Ln)-Zn co-doping on Pd1/CeO2(111) using density functional theory and microkinetic simulations. In this design, Zn stabilizes isolated Pd atoms and promotes lattice-oxygen activation, while Ln dopants are introduced to further enhance lattice oxygen reactivity and tune reactant adsorption. Despite these intended benefits, microkinetic simulations reveal that Ln co-doping consistently decreases the CO oxidation activity compared to the Zn-doped reference. While Ln incorporation enhances lattice oxygen reactivity and facilitates vacancy formation, it simultaneously hinders O2 adsorption, activation, and vacancy replenishment. As a result, the catalytic cycle becomes limited by O2 activation rather than lattice oxygen participation, leading to a lower turnover frequency. These findings demonstrate that increasing lattice oxygen reactivity alone does not guarantee improved catalytic performance in systems operating via a Mars-van Krevelen mechanism. Instead, catalytic activity is governed by a delicate balance between lattice oxygen activation and reoxidation kinetics. Consequently, commonly used descriptors such as oxygen vacancy formation energy are insufficient to predict catalytic performance. This work highlights that effective catalyst design requires the selection of combined descriptors based on the kinetic characteristics of the specific catalytic system, rather than relying on a single universal descriptor.

Key words: Density functional theory, CO oxidation, Co-doping, Lanthanides, Transition metal, Microkinetic simulations, Pd, Single atom catalysis