Boosting reactivity of water-gas shift reaction by synergistic function over CeO(2-x)/CoO(1-x)/Co dual interfacial structures

Dual-interfacial structure within catalysts is capable of mitigating the detrimentally completive adsorption during the catalysis process, but its construction strategy and mechanism understanding remain vastly lacking. Here, a highly active dual-interfaces of CeO(2-x)/CoO(1-x)/Co is constructed using the pronounced interfacial interaction from surrounding small CeO(2-x) islets, which shows high activity in catalyzing the water-gas shift reaction. Kinetic evidence and in-situ characterization results revealed that CeO(2-x) modulates the oxidized state of Co species and consequently generates the dual active CeO(2-x)/CoO(1-x)/Co interface during the WGS reaction. A synergistic redox mechanism comprised of independent contribution from dual functional interfaces, including CeO(2-x)/CoO(1-x) and CoO(1-x)/Co, is authenticated by experimental and theoretical results, where the CeO(2-x)/CoO(1-x) interface alleviates the CO poison effect, and the CoO(1-x)/Co interface promotes the H(2) formation. The results may provide guidance for fabricating dual-interfacial structures within catalysts and shed light on the mechanism over multi-component catalyst systems.