Ion beam surface engineering for highly active nanocatalysts

Interface science is at the forefront in the development of new materials for advanced technological applications. In particular, surface properties strongly influence catalysis which is essentially a surface phenomenon. One of the novel applications of ion beam irradiation includes the modification of the catalytic activity of solid catalysts. In this study we evaluated the effect of ion irradiation on the catalytic properties of Ce0.7Zr0.3O2 and the supported noble metal catalyst Pt/Ce0.7Zr0.3O2, which plays an important role in automotive exhaust control applications, among others. The effect on the catalytic properties is discussed from Temperature Programmed Oxidation (TPO) and Reduction (TPR) measurement, together with the results of microstructural (TEM) and IR spectrometric analyses.