Oxidative Strong Metal-Support Interactions between Metals and Inert Boron Nitride.

The strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) is one of the most important concepts in heterogeneous catalysis, which has been widely investigated between metals and active oxides triggered by reductive atmospheres. Here, we report the oxidative strong metal-support interaction (O-SMSI) effect between Pt nanoparticles (NPs) and inert hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) sheets, in which Pt NPs are encapsulated by oxidized boron (BOx) overlayers derived from the h-BN support under oxidative conditions. De-encapsulation of Pt NPs has been achieved by washing in water, and the residual ultrathin BOx overlayers work synergistically with surface Pt sites for enhancing CO oxidation reaction. The O-SMSI effect is also present in other h-BN-supported metal catalysts such as Au, Rh, Ru, and Ir within different oxidative atmospheres including O2 and CO2, which is determined by metal-boron interaction and O affinity of metals.