2D Metal Oxide, Carbide, and Nitride Based RMSI

Engineering the active sites of supported noble metal catalysts often includes modulating the structure and composition of the sites to achieve optimal reaction rate and stability. Strong metal support interaction (SMSI), particularly reactive metal support interaction (RMSI) involves formation of intermetallic alloys owing to reaction between the admetals and oxide supports, which promotes catalytic reactions from steam reforming to hydrogenation. SMSI has been demonstrated to be an effective route to tune active sites of catalysts via electronic effects and adsorbate functionalized overlayer. In this direction, we look at the metal-support interaction between metal nanoparticles and MXenes for designing and manipulating catalytically active sites. We are investigating layered perovskites and MXenes other than the traditional oxide support systems. Perovskites and Mxenes have the appealing properties of being either easily doped or otherwise permuted, thus opening up possibilities for extensive tuning of support properties that have been challenging to establish with traditional oxide supports. Perovskites may be permuted by changing the concentrations or chemical identities of A and B site cations, while MXenes are amenable to synthesis with a large array of base metals that sandwich interstitial carbide layers, all without significant changes in the global geometry of the MXenes. Specifically, we will study reactive metal support interaction (RMSI) between metallic nanoparticles and layered perovskites and MXenes. The alloy formation through RMSI will be characterized by in-situ and ex-situ X-ray based spectroscopies and other electron microscopy techniques.