(387a) Catalytic Activity and Structural Characterization of Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNTs) Supported RuOx Catalysts: Oxidation and Loading Effect

The boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have been investigated as catalyst-supporting materials due to their high oxidation resistance and superior thermal stability. It was reported that B-N bonds’ ionic property and high surface area can make BNNTs a good support for heterogeneous catalysts [1]. In general, the high surface area of support enables metals to have improved dispersion with smaller nanoparticle sizes, which can lead to enhanced catalytic activity [2]. Although theoretical calculations for catalytic reaction over the BNNT-supported metal catalysts show promising activity results, experimental data have not been well reported. In the past decades, platinum group metals (PGMs) have been extensively used due to their high catalytic performance, while its high cost should be considered for further application. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the molecular structure of the series of RuO_x/BNNT catalysts and their catalytic activity for CO oxidation as a model reaction. The molecular structure and chemical composition of the prepared catalysts were characterized using several spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, such as FTIR, XPS, TEM, SEM-EDS, and ICP−OES. As shown in Figure 1, CO oxidation catalytic performance was increased with increasing the RuO_x loadings and it was confirmed that the oxidation state of Ru was directly related to the CO conversion. It is hypothesized that the dispersion of Ru will be controlled by oxidizing and reducing synthesis conditions, and it can directly control the catalytic activity.

Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge funding support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (ATC+ Project Grant No. 20017989) of the Republic of Korea. The authors would also like to thank the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center for the facilities at Stony Brook University.

References:
[1] M.D. Esrafili et al., Appl. Surf. Sci. 2024, 314, 90.
[2] J. M. Planeix et al., Journal American Chemical Society 1994, 116, 7935-7936.