Synthesis of rhodium intermetallic catalysts by enlarging the inter-particle distance on high-surface-area carbon black supports.

Here, we report a "critical distance" method for the synthesis of 9 kinds of sub-5 nm rhodium (Rh)-based intermetallic catalysts. Enlarging the distance between intermetallic particles on high-surface-area carbon black supports could significantly suppress the metal sintering in high-temperature annealing. The prepared RhSn intermetallic catalysts exhibited enhanced activity in catalyzing the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene.