Issue 28, 2024

The interaction of size-selected Ru3 clusters with TiO2: depth-profiling of encapsulated clusters

Abstract

Ru is a metal of interest in catalysis. Monodisperse Ru3 clusters as catalytic sites are relevant for the development of catalysts because clusters use significantly lower amounts of precious materials for forming active sites due to the small size of the cluster. However, retaining the mono-dispersity of the cluster size after deposition is a challenge because surface energy could drive both agglomeration and encapsulation of the clusters. In the present work Ru3 clusters are deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of Ru3(CO)12 and cluster source depositions of bare Ru3 onto radio frequency sputter-deposited TiO2 (RF-TiO2) substrates, TiO2(100), and SiO2. When supported on RF-TiO2, bare Ru3 is encapsulated by a layer of titania substrate material during deposition with a cluster source. Ligated Ru3(CO)12 is also encapsulated by a layer of titania when deposited onto sputter-treated RF-TiO2, but only through heat treatment which is required to remove most of the ligands. The titania overlayer thickness was determined to be 1–2 monolayers for Ru3(CO)12 clusters on RF-TiO2, which is thin enough for catalytic or photocatalytic reactions to potentially occur even without clusters being part of the very outermost layer. The implication for catalysis of the encapsulation of Ru3 into the RF-TiO2 is discussed. Temperature-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), angle-resolved XPS, and temperature-dependent low energy ion scattering (TD-LEIS) are used to probe how the cluster–surface interaction changes due to heat treatment and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) was used to image the depth of the surface from side-on.

Graphical abstract: The interaction of size-selected Ru3 clusters with TiO2: depth-profiling of encapsulated clusters

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Oca 2024
Accepted
11 Haz 2024
First published
18 Haz 2024

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024,26, 19117-19129

The interaction of size-selected Ru3 clusters with TiO2: depth-profiling of encapsulated clusters

L. Howard-Fabretto, T. J. Gorey, G. Li, D. J. Osborn, S. Tesana, G. F. Metha, S. L. Anderson and G. G. Andersson, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2024, 26, 19117 DOI: 10.1039/D4CP00263F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements