The Dynamics of Adsorption on Clean and Adsorbate-Modified Transition Metal and Metal Oxide Surfaces

Research directed toward understanding the dynamical factors governing the adsorption of molecules typically involved in heterogeneous catalytic processes has been continued. Adsorption is the first step in any catalytic process, and predictions of rates of adsorption are fundamental to calculations of rates of catalytic reactions. Dissociative adsorption can occur either directly upon impact with the surface or as the result of the migration of a temporarily trapped species across the surface. Alkane activation exhibits both of these pathways for reaction on metal surfaces. We have focused on the dynamics of dissociative adsorption of low molecular weight alkanes on single crystal surfaces of platinum group metals. The overall objective of these studies was to make a quantitative comparison of the dissociation probabilities of C{sub 2}-C{sub 4} alkanes on different metals in order to assess the effects of the structures of the different alkanes and the intrinsic differences of the metals on reactivity. First, an unusual and somewhat unexpected difference is observed in the reactivity of linear and branched alkanes. Further, the reactivity of each alkane is significantly higher on Pt(111) than on Pd(111). It has also been observed that the trapping probabilities for the alkanes are higher on Pd(111) due to a larger dissipation of energy to lattice vibrations upon collision, suggesting that energy dissipation in the reaction coordinate into phonons may be involved in dissociative adsorption. We have thus focused on the dynamics of dissociative adsorption of low molecular weight alkanes on single crystal surfaces of platinum, palladium and nickel in order to assess the role of energy dissipation from the incident molecule and the differences of the reactivity of the different metals. We observe that the reactivity of each of the alkanes studied to date differs by only a small amount. On the contrary, due to the dissipation of incident translational energy to lattice vibrations upon collision, the trapping probabilities for the alkanes differ appreciably for the three surfaces. There thus appears to be no correlation between the large differences observed in the trapping probabilities and the reactivity of the surfaces for direct collisional activation of the alkanes, suggesting that no significant amount of the incident kinetic energy of the alkane is dissipated from the reaction coordinate into lattice vibrations. Further, the differences in reactivities of different alkanes on these surfaces appears to originate from steric differences in the accessibility of C-H bonds during the collisional encounter with the surface

Hydrogen migration at restructuring palladium-silver oxide boundaries dramatically enhances reduction rate of silver oxide.

Heterogeneous catalysts are complex materials with multiple interfaces. A critical proposition in exploiting bifunctionality in alloy catalysts is to achieve surface migration across interfaces separating functionally dissimilar regions. Herein, we demonstrate the enhancement of more than 104 in the rate of molecular hydrogen reduction of a silver surface oxide in the presence of palladium oxide compared to pure silver oxide resulting from the transfer of atomic hydrogen from palladium oxide islands onto the surrounding surface formed from oxidation of a palladium-silver alloy. The palladium-silver interface also dynamically restructures during reduction, resulting in silver-palladium intermixing. This study clearly demonstrates the migration of reaction intermediates and catalyst material across surface interfacial boundaries in alloys with a significant effect on surface reactivity, having broad implications for the catalytic function of bimetallic materials

First-Principles Study of Alkoxides Adsorbed on Au(111) and Au(110) Surfaces: Assessing the Roles of Noncovalent Interactions and Molecular Structures in Catalysis

Microscopic understanding of molecular adsorption on catalytic surfaces is crucial for controlling the activity and selectivity of chemical reactions. However, for complex molecules, the adsorption process is very systemspecific and there is a clear need to elaborate systematic understanding of important factors that determine catalytic functionality. Here, we investigate the binding of eight molecules, including seven alkoxides and one carboxylate, on the Au(111) and Au(110) surfaces. Our density-functional theory calculations including long-range van der Waals interactions demonstrate the significant role of these “weak” noncovalent forces on the adsorption structures, energetics, and relative adsorbate stabilities. Interestingly, the binding energy trends are insensitive to the surface structure. Instead, the adsorption stability depends strongly on the structural and chemical characteristics of the molecules: linear vs branching configurations, number of unsaturated C−C bonds, bidentate adsorption, and the presence of electronegative atoms. Our calculations help establish the influence of individual and collective chemical factors that determine the catalytic selectivity of alkoxides

Self-assembly of acetate adsorbates drives atomic rearrangement on the Au(110) surface

Weak inter-adsorbate interactions are shown to play a crucial role in determining surface structure, with major implications for its catalytic reactivity. This is exemplified here in the case of acetate bound to Au(110), where the small extra energy of the van der Waals interactions among the surface-bound groups drives massive restructuring of the underlying Au. Acetate is a key intermediate in electro-oxidation of CO2 and a poison in partial oxidation reactions. Metal atom migration originates at surface defects and is likely facilitated by weakened Au–Au interactions due to bonding with the acetate. Even though the acetate is a relatively small molecule, weak intermolecular interaction provides the energy required for molecular self-assembly and reorganization of the metal surface

Identifying key descriptors in surface binding: interplay of surface anchoring and intermolecular interactions for carboxylates on Au(110)† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Supporting experimental methods and supporting discussion are included in the supplementary information. See DOI: 10.1039/c7sc05313d

The relative stability of carboxylates on Au(110) was investigated as part of a comprehensive study of adsorbate binding on Group IB metals that can be used to predict and understand how to control reactivity in heterogeneous catalysis. The binding efficacy of carboxylates is only weakly dependent on alkyl chain length for relatively short-chain molecules, as demonstrated using quantitative temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy. Corresponding density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that the bidentate anchoring geometry is rigid and restricts the amount of additional stabilization through adsorbate-surface van der Waals (vdW) interactions which control stability for alkoxides. A combination of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) shows that carboxylates form dense local islands on Au(110). Complementary DFT calculations demonstrate that adsorbate–adsorbate interactions provide additional stabilization that increases as a function of alkyl chain length for C2 and C3 carboxylates. Hence, overall stability is generally a function of the anchoring group to the surface and the inter-adsorbate interaction. This study demonstrates the importance of these two important factors in describing binding of key catalytic intermediates

Synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles on the Au(111) surface

The growth of titanium oxide nanoparticles on reconstructed Au(111) surfaces was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ti was deposited by physical vapor deposition at 300 K. Regular arrays of titanium nanoparticles form by preferential nucleation of Ti at the elbow sites of the herringbone reconstruction. Titanium oxide clusters were synthesized by subsequent exposure to O{sub 2} at 300 K. Two- and three-dimensional titanium oxide nanocrystallites form during annealing in the temperature range from 600 to 900 K. At the same time, the Au(111) surface assumes a serrated, <110> oriented step-edge morphology, suggesting step-edge pinning by titanium oxide nanoparticles. The oxidation state of these titanium oxide nanoparticles varies with annealing temperature. Specifically, annealing to 900 K results in the formation of stoichiometric TiO{sub 2} nanocrystals as judged by the observed XPS binding energies. Nano-dispersed TiO{sub 2} on Au(111) is an ideal system to test the various models explaining the enhanced catalytic reactivity of supported Au nanoparticles

Identifying the Optimal Pd Ensemble Size in Dilute PdAu Alloy Nanomaterials for Benzaldehyde Hydrogenation

Unraveling metal nuclearity effects is central for active site identification and the development of high-performance heterogeneous catalysts. Herein, a platform of nanostructured palladium (Pd) in gold (Au) dilute alloy nanoparticles supported on raspberry-colloid-templated (RCT) silica was employed to systematically assess the impact of the Pd ensemble size for the low-nuclearity regime in the Au surface layer, from single atoms to clusters, on the catalytic performance in the liquid-phase hydrogenation of benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol. Combining catalyst evaluation, detailed characterization, and mechanistic studies based on density functional theory, we show that Pd single atoms in the Au surface plane (corresponding to samples with 4 atom % Pd in Au) are virtually inactive in this reaction and benzyl alcohol production is optimal over small Pd clusters (corresponding to samples with 10-12 atom % Pd in Au) due to superior benzaldehyde adsorption and transition state stabilization for the C-H bond formation step. For larger Pd ensembles (samples with ≥10 atom % Pd in Au), C-O bond hydrogenolysis occurs, promoting toluene formation and decreasing the selectivity toward benzyl alcohol, in line with a relatively lowered C-O bond cleavage barrier. Nevertheless, the nanostructured bimetallic Pd13Au87/SiO2-RCT catalyst still outperforms monometallic Pd counterparts in terms of selectivity for benzyl alcohol over toluene at comparable conversion and rate. Furthermore, the stability is improved compared to pure Pd nanoparticles due to inhibited particle agglomeration in the RCT silica matrix

The Dynamics of Adsorption on Clean and Adsorbate-Modified Transition Metal and Metal Oxide Surfaces

Research directed toward understanding the dynamical factors governing the adsorption of molecules typically involved in heterogeneous catalytic processes has been continued. Adsorption is the first step in any catalytic process, and predictions of rates of adsorption are fundamental to calculations of rates of catalytic reactions. Dissociative adsorption can occur either directly upon impact with the surface or as the result of the migration of a temporarily trapped species across the surface. Alkane activation exhibits both of these pathways for reaction on metal surfaces. We have focused on the dynamics of dissociative adsorption of low molecular weight alkanes on single crystal surfaces of platinum group metals. The overall objective of these studies was to make a quantitative comparison of the dissociation probabilities of C{sub 2}-C{sub 4} alkanes on different metals in order to assess the effects of the structures of the different alkanes and the intrinsic differences of the metals on reactivity. First, an unusual and somewhat unexpected difference is observed in the reactivity of linear and branched alkanes. Further, the reactivity of each alkane is significantly higher on Pt(111) than on Pd(111). It has also been observed that the trapping probabilities for the alkanes are higher on Pd(111) due to a larger dissipation of energy to lattice vibrations upon collision, suggesting that energy dissipation in the reaction coordinate into phonons may be involved in dissociative adsorption. We have thus focused on the dynamics of dissociative adsorption of low molecular weight alkanes on single crystal surfaces of platinum, palladium and nickel in order to assess the role of energy dissipation from the incident molecule and the differences of the reactivity of the different metals. We observe that the reactivity of each of the alkanes studied to date differs by only a small amount. On the contrary, due to the dissipation of incident translational energy to lattice vibrations upon collision, the trapping probabilities for the alkanes differ appreciably for the three surfaces. There thus appears to be no correlation between the large differences observed in the trapping probabilities and the reactivity of the surfaces for direct collisional activation of the alkanes, suggesting that no significant amount of the incident kinetic energy of the alkane is dissipated from the reaction coordinate into lattice vibrations. Further, the differences in reactivities of different alkanes on these surfaces appears to originate from steric differences in the accessibility of C-H bonds during the collisional encounter with the surface