Single-phase formation of Rh2O3 nanoparticles on h-BN support for highly controlled methane partial oxidation to syngas.

Single-phase formation of active metal oxides on supports has been vigorously pursued in many catalytic applications to suppress undesired reactions and to determine direct structure-property relationships. However, this is difficult to achieve in nanoscale range because the effect of non-uniform metal-support interfaces becomes dominant in the overall catalyst growth, leading to nucleation of various metastable oxides. Herein, we develop a supported single-phase corundum-Rh2O3(I) nanocatalyst by utilizing controlled interaction between metal oxide and h-BN support. Atomic-resolution electron microscopy and first-principle calculation reveal that the single-phase formation occurs via uniform and preferential attachment of Rh2O3(I) (110) seed plane on well-defined h-BN surface after decomposition of rhodium precursor. By utilizing the Rh/h-BN catalyst in methane partial oxidation, syngas is successfully produced solely following the direct route with keeping the H2/CO ratio of 2, which makes it ideal for most downstream chemical processes.