Stabilizing Oxide Nanolayer via Interface Confinement and Surface Hydroxylation

Surface hydroxylation over oxide catalysts often occurs in many catalytic processes involving H2 and H2O, which is considered to play an important role in elementary steps of the reactions. Here, monolayer CoO and CoOHx nanoislands on Pt(111) are used as inverse model catalysts to study the effect of surface hydroxylation on the stability of Co oxide overlayers in O2. Surface science experiments indicate that hydroxyl groups formed on CoO nanoislands produced by deuterium-spillover can enhance oxidation resistance of the Co oxide nanostructures. Theoretical calculation shows that the interfacial adhesion between CoO and Pt is linearly strengthened with the increasing hydroxylation degree of CoO surface. Thus, the interface confinement effect between CoO and Pt can be enhanced by the surface hydroxylation due to the more reduced Co ions and stronger Co–Pt bonding at the CoOHx/Pt interface.