Applicability of MOS structures in monitoring catalytic properties, as exemplified for monolayer-iron-oxide-coated porous platinum films

•Monolayer-iron-oxide synthesized on porous polycrystalline platinum films to serve as the metal gate in MOS devices.•A low-temperature shift in CO oxidation characteristics for the monolayer-coated compared to non-coated polycrystalline Pt films was observed.•An in situ characterization method for catalyst surfaces is presented based on the capacitance signal of the MOS structures.•The MOS electrical signal, CO oxidation characteristics, and surface chemical composition remained stable for the monolayer-coated devices after 200 h of catalyst operation.

Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) capacitor devices comprised of monolayer iron oxide-coated as well as non-coated polycrystalline Pt deposited on oxidized silicon carbide substrates have been fabricated and their usefulness as realistic model systems in catalyst studies/development was evaluated. The CO oxidation characteristics of both iron oxide- and non-coated Pt catalysts were investigated using mass spectrometry, monitoring the carbon dioxide production rate for different combinations of carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen concentrations at various temperatures. Additionally, the output capacitance of the MOS model catalysts was recorded for each individual CO oxidation activity. A low-temperature shift in CO oxidation characteristics for the monolayer-coated compared to the non-coated Pt catalysts was observed, similar to that previously reported for monolayer iron oxide grown on single-crystalline Pt substrates. A strong correlation between the output capacitance of the MOS structures and the CO oxidation characteristics was found for both monolayer- and non-coated model catalysts. Furthermore, the devices exhibit retained MOS electrical output and CO oxidation characteristics as well as an unaffected catalyst surface composition, as confirmed by photoelectron spectroscopy, even after 200 h of continuous model catalyst operation. In addition to the implications on practical applicability of monolayer iron oxide coating on widely used polycrystalline Pt films in real-world catalysts and sensors, the findings also point to new possibilities regarding the use of MOS model systems for in situ characterization, high-throughput screening, and tailoring of e.g. catalyst- and fuel-cell-electrode materials for specific applications.

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