The Enhancement of the Catalytic Oxidation of CO on Ir/CeO2 Nanojunctions.

Heterogeneous catalysts facilitate various chemical reactions through the changing of their surface charge density. Herein, we demonstrate an interface engineering strategy to enhance the Ir catalytic performance for oxidation of CO by constructing Ir/CeO2 nanojunctions using a wet chemical reduction process. The as-prepared Ir/CeO2 nanojunctions show a complete CO conversion temperature (T100) of 110 °C under 1 vol % CO and retains long-term durability even after 24 h. The Ir atoms and CeO2 supports were connected by O atoms, which changes the surface electronic structure of Ir atoms. DFT calculations demonstrate that the significant increase in electron density at the interface between Ir and CeO2 plays a pivotal role in the enhancement of CO oxidation.