Unveiling the Pd oxidation state and chemical environment in ceria/praseodymia-supported Pd-based catalysts: towards the identification of t

Catalytic total oxidation of methane is a state of the art method to abate the CH4 traces in exhaust gases. To this aim, Pd-based catalysts are commonly employed. However, despite the great scientific interest in these materials, a sound identification of the main active site in Pd catalysts is still required. Recent research suggested that the presence of oxidized Pd2+ species is crucial for catalyzing methane oxidation, at least at high temperature. For this reason, we synthesized redox supports consisting of pure and Pr-doped ceria, able to promote the presence of oxidized Pd species. In this project, we will use the LISA@ESRF XAS beamline to investigate the interactions between Pd and Pr-doped ceria. In this way, we will discover how Pr loading affects the chemical environment and oxidation state of Pd species, and how these properties evolve during the catalysis. The results from this study will help in the rational design of more active and stable catalysts for methane oxidation.