Ceria (CeO 2 )‐supported metals are widely used as catalysts because of their exceptional redox properties. Here, we use surface contrast NMR methods to investigate the hydrogenation of phenol by Pd supported on ceria nanoparticles. We show that the rigid and planar binding of phenol to Pd is mediated by a weak and highly mobile association of the small molecule to ceria. Interestingly, while addition of phosphate to the mixture does not perturb the adsorption of phenol on Pd, it destabilizes its interaction with ceria and proportionally decreases the rate of catalytic conversion. Our data provide strong experimental evidence that weak interactions between adsorbate and ceria are catalytically competent, and explain the exceptional performance of Pd/CeO 2 for reductive conversions under mild reaction conditions.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/aaron-rossini/85/
This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Egner, Timothy, Pranjali Naik, Yeongseo An, Amrit Venkatesh, Aaron Rossini, Igor Slowing, and Vincenzo Venditti. "‘Surface Contrast’ NMR reveals non‐innocent role of support in Pd/CeO2 catalyzed phenol hydrogenation." ChemCatChem (2020), which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1002/cctc.202000608. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. Posted with permission.