Synthesis and Photocatalytic Properties of Thermally Stable Metal-Oxide Hybrid Nanocatalyst with Ultrathin Oxide Encapsulation

Ultrathin oxide encapsulated metal-oxide hybrid nanocatalysts have been fabricated by a soft chemical and facile route. First, SiO2 nanoparticles of 25~30 nm size have been synthesized by modified Stobber's method followed by amine functionalization. Metal nanoparticles (Ru, Rh, Pt) capped with polymer/citrate have been deposited on functionalized SiO2 and finally an ultrathin layer of TiO2 coated on surface which prevents sintering and provides high thermal stability while maximizing the metal-oxide interface for higher catalytic activity. TEM studies confirmed that 2.5 nm sized metal nanoparticles are well dispersed and distributed throughout the surface of 25 nm SiO2 nanoparticles with a 3-4 nm TiO2 ultrathin layer. The metal nanoparticles are still well exposed to outer surface, being enabled for surface characterization and catalytic activity. Even after calcination at $600^{\circ}C$, the structure and morphology of hybrid nanocatalysts remain intact confirm the high thermal stability. XPS spectra of hybrid nanocatalyst suggest the metallic states as well as their corresponding oxide states. The catalytic activity has been evaluated for high temperature CO oxidation reaction as well as photocatalytic H2 generation under solar simulation. The design of hybrid structure, high thermal stability, and better exposure of metal active sites are the key parameters for the high catalytic activity. The maximization of metal-TiO2 interface interaction has the great role in photocatalytic H2 production.