Confined Catalysis under 2D silica: A CO Oxidation Study

Open metal surfaces play an active role in heterogeneous catalysis reactions such as the prolific CO oxidation reaction to produce CO₂. The addition of a nanostructured film on the metal surface changes the reaction kinetics and dynamics due to confinement effects under the cover. We illustrate the role of porous 2D silica grown on Pd(111) in the model reaction of CO oxidation at the interface of palladium and silica using in situ infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), mass spectroscopy (MS) and ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS). Our findings suggest that 2D silica more effectively converts CO and O₂ to CO₂ under industrially-relevant conditions than the bare Pd(111) alone. 2D confinement effects enhance CO₂ production even with less CO bound species involved in the reaction.