Abstract
The poisoning of metal catalysts by sulphur is a serious problem in many chemical processes, but in some cases partial poisoning can produce beneficial changes in catalytic selectivity1,2. The mechanism whereby adsorbed sulphur affects selectivity has been the subject of much debate; one view3 is that during poisoning a restructuring of the metal surface occurs that alters the activity of the catalyst towards structure-sensitive reactions. The adsorption of sulphur can induce ‘faceting’ of macroscopic metal surfaces (see for example ref. 4), so a similar phenomenon might occur when sulphur interacts with the small supported metal particles which are used in practical catalysts. Here I show, using transmission electron microscopy, that sulphur adsorption can produce a transformation in the morphology of alumina-supported platinum particles, which apparently involves the formation of sharp (100) facets. This supports the restructuring model of sulphur poisoning3, and suggests that more attention should be paid to the role of adsorbate-induced faceting in the poisoning and promotion of supported metal catalysts.
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Harris, P. Sulphur-induced faceting of platinum catalyst particles. Nature 323, 792–794 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323792a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323792a0
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