Mesostructured cellular foam silica supported Au–Pt nanoalloy: Enrichment of d-state electrons for promoting the catalytic synergy

A mesostructured cellular foam (MCF) silica was applied to support gold (Au) – platinum (Pt) alloy nanoparticles (NPs) for benzyl alcohol partial oxidation. catalytic synergy on bimetallic (Au)-platinum nanoparticle (NP) catalyst, referring that introducing Au Pt leading a higher performance has been observed. However, the essence of this synergistic effect is still under debate. In work, series MCF supported Au–Pt NP catalysts are designed reveal essence. Well-developed porous structure eliminated mass transfer limitation and intrinsic activity obtained. The improved catalyst attributed geometric electronic changes active sites after formation NPs. Compared with monometallic results in particle size lattice structure. Electronic property analyses confirmed increase d state electrons NPs, which calculated from s-p-d hybridization intra-atomic charge redistribution, increased abundance transferable near Fermi level further enhancing activity. These findings gain new insights into shed light optimization these catalysts.