Surrounded catalysts: concept,design and catalytic performance

Supported catalysts are widely used in heterogeneous catalysis processes, in which the interfacial interaction between the active phase and the support and the influence of the interfacial density on the catalytic reaction mechanism and performance have always attracted attention. The main preparation method for traditional supported catalysts is impregnation method, in which a metal precursor is deposited onto the outer surface of support, normally rendering limited contact area and relatively weak interface interaction between the active species and the support. We use the reverse design idea to construct the surrounding catalyst, and develop a simple and universal preparation method, namely the ion exchange reverse loading method, so that the metal ions of the carrier precursor can replace the metal ions of the active metal hydroxide precursor through the ion exchange reaction. After calcination and reduction, a catalyst with an active core surrounded by a carrier is formed. The unique surrounded structure presents not only high interface density and mutually changed interface, but also high stability due to the physical isolation of active phase, revealing superior catalytic performance to the traditional supported catalyst, suggesting the great potential of this new surrounded catalyst as the upgrade of supported catalyst.