Microwave-assisted rapid construction strong metal-support interactions for sinter-resistant gold nanocatalysts

The strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) is able to regulate the electron and geometric structure of supported metal catalysts to improve their performance. However, conventional SMSI formation typically requires high-temperature reduction or oxidation treatments, making it challenging to prevent particle sintering before its establishment. Here, we propose a rapid and energy-efficient microwave treatment to induce SMSI in an Au/CeO 2 system under ambient conditions. Comprehensive characterization confirms that the encapsulation of Au nanoparticles (NPs) and the reduced CO adsorption capacity align with the characteristics of classical SMSI. The rapid generation of oxygen defects and Ce 3+ species in the support is the key to enabling microwave-induced SMSI. As a result, the Au/CeO 2 -MW5 catalysts associated with this SMSI demonstrate excellent stability during a 100-hour test. In addition, this strategy is extendable to various Au-based catalysts supported on metal oxides, such as Au/TiO 2 and Au/ZrO 2 . This work offers an efficient and facile approach to constructing SMSI, potentially laying the foundation for developing encapsulation to enhance the catalyst's stability of noble metal catalysts.