Issue 1, 2015

Catalysis at the sub-nanoscale: complex CO oxidation chemistry on a few Au atoms

Abstract

Au has been widely used as jewelry since ancient times due to its bulk, chemically inert properties. During the last three decades, nanoscale Au has attracted remarkable attention and has been shown to be an exceptional catalyst, especially for oxidation reactions. Herein, we elucidate a puzzle in catalysis by using multiscale computational modeling: the experimentally observed “magic number” CO oxidation catalytic behavior of sub-nanoscale Au clusters. Our results demonstrate that support effects (cluster charging), symmetry-induced electronic effects on the clusters, catalyst reconstruction, competing chemical pathways and formation of carbonate contribute to the marked differences in the observed catalytic behavior of Aun clusters with n = 6, 8 and 10 atoms. This is the first demonstration of multiscale simulations on sub-nanoscale catalysts unraveling the magic number activity for the CO oxidation reaction on Au.

Graphical abstract: Catalysis at the sub-nanoscale: complex CO oxidation chemistry on a few Au atoms

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Oct 2014
Accepted
07 Nov 2014
First published
10 Nov 2014

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2015,5, 134-141

Catalysis at the sub-nanoscale: complex CO oxidation chemistry on a few Au atoms

N. Nikbin, N. Austin, D. G. Vlachos, M. Stamatakis and G. Mpourmpakis, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2015, 5, 134 DOI: 10.1039/C4CY01295J

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