Manipulating Copper Dispersion on Ceria for Enhanced Catalysis: A Nanocrystal‐Based Atom‐Trapping Strategy

Due to tunable redox properties and cost‐effectiveness, copper‐ceria (Cu‐CeO(2)) materials have been investigated for a wide scope of catalytic reactions. However, accurately identifying and rationally tuning the local structures in Cu‐CeO(2) have remained challenging, especially for nanomaterials with inherent structural complexities involving surfaces, interfaces, and defects. Here, a nanocrystal‐based atom‐trapping strategy to access atomically precise Cu‐CeO(2) nanostructures for enhanced catalysis is reported. Driven by the interfacial interactions between the presynthesized Cu and CeO(2) nanocrystals, Cu atoms migrate and redisperse onto the CeO(2) surface via a solid–solid route. This interfacial restructuring behavior facilitates tuning of the copper dispersion and the associated creation of surface oxygen defects on CeO(2), which gives rise to enhanced activities and stabilities catalyzing water–gas shift reaction. Combining soft and solid‐state chemistry of colloidal nanocrystals provide a well‐defined platform to understand, elucidate, and harness metal–support interactions. The dynamic behavior of the supported metal species can be further exploited to realize exquisite control and rational design of multicomponent nanocatalysts.