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Abstract Noble metal/metal oxide nanocomposites are very important in various fields of catalysis and play an evenly important role in gas sensing. Although there are many similarities regarding the choice of materials, the synthesis and the fundamental mechanisms, both research fields have been mostly treated independently up to now. In both fields, open questions regarding the elementary steps in the interaction of the gases with the active species and the role of the noble metal, the semiconducting metal oxide support and the interface remain. In this concept article, we first outline the importance of such composites in catalysis and gas sensing focussing on Pt/Pd, as well as CeO 2 and SnO 2 as transition metal oxides. Next, the state of art of both fundamental and relevant surface reactions and electronic mechanisms are described. Finally, we highlight the synergy of jointly exploring catalysis and gas sensing of noble metal/metal oxide nanocomposite materials and the benefit for both research fields if they are dealt with simultaneously using advanced characterization and operando methods, sophisticated preparation techniques, testing of the performance, and predictive theoretical modelling.
Müller et al. (2017) studied this question.