Highly active Ni/Fe3O4/TiO2 nanocatalysts with tunable interfacial interactions for PH3 decomposition
The mixed-metal oxide Ni/Fe3O4/TiO2 with two metal–oxide interfaces to catalyze sequential chemical reactions was first applied in the decomposition of phosphine gas for yellow phosphorus (P4) production. The catalyst was prepared with tunable Ni-Fe3O4 and Ni-TiO2 interactions via annealing and subsequent reduction. Ni/Fe3O4/TiO2 exhibited significantly effective activity and good stability in the PH3 decomposition, which were achieved by modulating the metal–support interaction. The characterizations by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis(XRD), BET surface area measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) were carried out. The enhancements of the Ni-Fe3O4 and Ni-TiO2 dual interactions by annealing and reduction were verified and the mechanism of PH3 decomposition over the modulated Ni/Fe3O4/TiO2 catalyst was investigated. NiOOH as an active catalytic intermediate species is produced by the synergistic catalytical dual interfaces. The catalytic reaction pathways of PH3 decomposition by the dual interfaces were firstly revealed. The results provide underlying insights in the way to promote the catalytic performance for synergistic catalysis in PH3 decomposition.