Finite-Size Effects in O and CO Adsorption for the Late Transition Metals

Gold is known to become significantly more catalytically active as its particle size is reduced, and other catalysts are also known to exhibit finite-size effects. To understand the trends related to finite-size effects, we have used density functional theory to study adsorption of representative adsorbates, CO and O, on the late transition metals Co, Ni, Cu, Ir, Pd, Ag, Rh, Pt and Au. We studied adsorption energies and geometries on 13-atom clusters and compared them to the fcc(111) and fcc(211) crystal facets. In all cases, adsorbates were found to bind significantly more strongly to the 13-atom clusters than to the extended surfaces. The binding strength of both adsorbates were found to correlate very strongly with the average coordination number of the metal atoms to which the adsorbate binds, indicating that the finite-size effects in bonding are not specific to gold.     

Reaction of Au(111) with Sulfur and Oxygen: Scanning Tunneling Microscopic Study

The reaction of sulfur and oxygen with the gold surface is important in many technological applications, including heterogeneous catalysis, corrosion, and chemical sensors. We have studied reactions on Au(111) using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in order to better understand the surface structure and the origin of gold’s catalytic activity. We find that the Au(111) surface dynamically restructures during deposition of sulfur and oxygen and that these changes in structure promote the reactivity of Au with respect to SO₂ and O₂ dissociation. Specifically, the Au(111) herringbone reconstruction lifts when either S or O is deposited on the surface. We attribute this structural change to the reduction of tensile surface stress via charge redistribution by these electronegative adsorbates. This lifting of the reconstruction was accompanied by the release of gold atoms from the herringbone structure. At high coverage, clusters of gold sulfides or gold oxides form by abstraction of gold atoms from regular terrace sites of the surface. Concomitant with the restructuring is the release of gold atoms from the herringbone structure to produce a higher density of low-coordinated Au sites by forming serrated step edges or small gold islands. These undercoordinated Au atoms may play an essential role in the enhancement of catalytic activity of gold in reactions such as oxygen dissociation or SO₂ decomposition. Our results further elucidate the interaction between sulfur and oxygen and the Au(111) surface and indicate that the reactivity of Au nanoclusters on reducible metal oxides is probably related to the facile release of Au from the edges of these small islands. Our results provide insight into the sintering mechanism which leads to deactivation of Au nanoclusters and into the fundamental limitation in the edge definition in soft lithography using thiol-based self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au. Furthermore, the enhanced reactivity of Au after release of undercoordinated atoms from the surface indicate a relatively insignificant role of an oxide support for high reactivity.     

Characterizing electrocatalytic surfaces: Electrochemical and NMR studies of methanol and carbon monoxide on Pt/C

We use cyclic voltammetry (CV) on fuel cell electrodes to elucidate the important differences between adsorbates resulting from carbon monoxide adsorption and methanol adsorption onto commercial Pt/C electrocatalysts in a sulfuric acid electrolyte. Under open circuit conditions, methanol was found to adsorb preferentially onto the Pt sites associated with “strongly bound” hydrogen. The sites associated with “weakly bound” hydrogen adsorbed methanol more slowly. In the case of CO adsorption, which requires no adsorbate dehydrogenation, all adsorption sites showed similar affinity towards the adsorbate. Electrochemical oxidation of the adsorbates derived from both methanol and CO exposure exhibit slower oxidation when the adsorbate is associated with cubic-packed-like sites than from close-packed-steps and other sites. NMR of a ¹³CO-adlayer prepared by electrochemical adsorption from low concentration ¹³CH₃OH shows a lower NMR shift and smaller linewidth than the previously reported values for electrochemically adsorbed ¹³CO gas. These results are interpreted in terms of adsorbate motion on the electrocatalyst surface.     

Theoretical study of CO adsorption on Au catalysts under environmental catalytic conditions

Density Functional Theory calculations with both standard GGA and hybrid functionals are performed on Au adatoms, steps, and low index surfaces with coordination numbers (CNs) varying from 3 to 9. The results are used to study adsorption thermodynamics and reactivity of CO on Au nanoparticles. We find that the hybrid functional improves calculated site preferences and predicts CO top site adsorption, regardless of the Au CN, in good agreement with experiments. The calculated adsorption energies vary monotonically with respect to Au CNs, and the results from the hybrid functional are around 20% smaller than the corresponding values from the GGA–PBE functional. A comparison with experimental adsorption energies suggests that these functionals may bound the true CO–Au interaction strength, and seven-coordinated Au atoms may be the active low-coordinated sites on many Au single crystal surfaces. However, thermodynamic analysis on Wulff-like Au particles at ambient temperatures shows that, even though the number of 6-coordinated corner Au atoms is much less than the number of 7-coordinated edge Au atoms and of higher-coordinated Au atoms, they are the dominant sites for CO adsorption on Au nanoparticles with sizes up to 10 nm. In addition, we find that CO adsorption is not influenced by the shape of Au nanoparticles, but the CO oxidation reaction may be.     

Creation of Low-Coordination Gold Sites on Au(111) Surface by 1,4-phenylene Diisocyanide Adsorption

The adsorption of CO on a saturated overlayer of 1,4-phenylene diisocyanide (PDI) adsorbed on a Au(111) surface at 300 K is studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), density functional theory (DFT) calculations and reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS). The PDI forms closed-packed rows of gold-PDI chains by extracting gold atoms from the Au(111) substrate. They are imaged by STM and the structure calculated by DFT. The adsorption of CO is studied on the low-coordination gold sites formed on the PDI-covered surface where it adsorbs exhibiting a CO stretching frequency of 2004 cm^?1, consistent with adsorption on an atop site. It is found that CO is stable on heating the sample to ~150 K and is only removed from the surface by heating to ~180 K. Since low-coordination gold atoms are suggested to be the active catalytic sites on supported gold nanoclusters, ??embossing?? the surface to form similar low-coordination sites using PDI might offer a strategy for tailoring the catalytic activity of gold.     

Special Sites at Noble and Late Transition Metal Catalysts

An overview of recent advancements in density functional theory modeling of particularly reactive sites at noble and late transition metal surfaces is given. Such special sites include sites at the flat surfaces of thin metal films, sites at stepped surfaces, sites at the metal/oxide interface boundary for oxide-supported metal clusters, and sites at the perimeter of oxide islands grown on metal surfaces. The Newns–Anderson model of the electronic interaction underlying chemisorption is described. This provides the grounds for introducing the Hammer–N?rskov d-band model that correlates changes in the energy center of the valence d-band density of states at the surface sites with their ability to form chemisorption bonds. A reactivity change described by this model is characterized as an electronic structure effect. Br?nsted plots of energy barriers versus reaction energies are discussed from the surface reaction perspective and are used to analyze the trends in the calculated changes. Deviations in the relation between energy barriers and reaction energies in Br?nsted plots are identified as due to atomic structure effects. The reactivity change from pure Pd surfaces to Pd thin films supported on MgO can be assigned to an electronic effect. Likewise for the reactivity change from flat Au surfaces, over Au thin films to Au edges and the Au/MgO interface boundary. The reactivity enhancement at atomic step sites is of both electronic and atomic structure nature for NO dissociation at Ru, Rh and Pd surfaces. The enhancement of the CO oxidation reactivity when moving from a CO+O coadsorption structure on Pt(111) to the PtO₂ oxide island edges supported by Pt(111) is, however, identified as mainly an atomic structure effect. As such, it is linked to the occurrence of favorable pathways at the oxide island edges and is occurring despite of stronger adsorbate binding of the oxygen within the oxide edge, i.e. despite of an opposing electronic effect. As a final topic, a discussion is given of the accuracy of density functional theory in conjunction with surface reactions; adsorption, desorption, diffusion, and dissociation. Energy barriers are concluded to be more robust with respect to changes in the exchange-correlation functional than are molecular bond and adsorption energies.     

Adsorption on perfect and reduced surfaces of metal oxides

Two major chemical processes, acidobasic and redox, track the adsorption mechanism on metal oxides. Molecular and dissociative adsorption on stoichiometric surfaces can be understood as acid–base processes. Clean and anhydrous surfaces of metal oxides have two different active sites: cations and anions. Electron-rich molecules or fragments arising from a heterolytic bond cleavage (Lewis bases) react with Mⁿ⁺, while electron poor ones (Lewis acids) react with O²⁻. The MgO and TiO₂ surfaces clearly appear to be predominantly acidic and molecules that do not dissociate generally bind to the metal cation. The electronic structure, insulating character for the stoichiometric surface, is preserved upon adsorption.

When the initial system does not favor an energy gap (open-shell adsorbates, defective surfaces), the best adsorption mode is via a redox mechanism that restores the situation of an insulator and the highest oxidation states for all the atoms.

For radical adsorption a first solution occurring on irreducible oxides is to couple the electrons and form two opposite ions adsorbed on the two surface sites, as for H₂/MgO, involving an acid–base mechanism. Another possibility occurring on reducible oxide is via an electron transfer to or from the oxide (redox mechanism). The electron transfer occurs from the substrate to the adsorbate for electronegative group (Cl adsorption on O) or the other way around for an electropositive one (NO adsorption on M). The reactivity at surfaces deviating from stoichiometry differs from that on the perfect ones. The difference does not only originate from the modification of the coordination number but also from the electron counting.     

Gold Nanoparticles on Yttrium Modified Titania: Support Properties and Catalytic Activity

A series of titanium oxide catalysts modified with yttrium has been prepared by sol–gel method and their structural properties have been studied. The incorporation of yttrium in the titania lattice favors the formation of oxygen vacancies while at low Y loadings the anatase structure is preserved. The catalytic activity of these solids for CO oxidation is found to be significantly dependent on their physical properties. In particular the amount of dopant controls the number of surface oxygen vacancies created as well as the gold particle size, which directly affects the catalytic activity. Also, a linear relationship between the catalytic activity and the band gap values, which depend on the Y loading, is observed. Density functional theory based calculations show that Y atoms are incorporated at the TiO₂ surface at substitutional positions only, while the preferred oxygen vacancies arise by removing the bridge surface oxygen atoms. These O-vacancies are the preferential adsorption sites for Au atoms and nanoparticles, acting as nucleation centers that favor the dispersion of the catalyst active phase over the support surface. In agreement with experiment, Y doping is found to decrease the band gap of the support due to a destabilization of the valence band of the oxide.     

Influence of Sulfur Poisoning on CO Adsorption on Pd(100)

Investigations of CO adsorption on sulfur covered Pd(100) surface were conducted in order to obtain insight into the deleterious effects of sulfur on this system. First-principles density functional theory calculations indicate that CO is markedly destabilized when it shares surface atoms with neighboring sulfur. Based on the analysis of the electronic properties, the decrease in binding is attributed to localized S?CPd bonding plus the interaction between CO and S. The internal C?CO stretching frequency was blue shifted relative to that on the clean surface as a result of the weakening of the C?CPd bonds. The poisoning effect is predicted to diminish for distant sites. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations (with adsorbate lateral interactions included) revealed that the introduction of S creates competition for adsorption sites. At a finite temperature, CO adsorption is essentially nullified when the surface is covered by a quarter of monolayer of sulfur in agreement with experiments. Aside from reduction of possible adsorption sites, sulfur severely inhibits the mobility of CO as well.     

Covalent Coupling of Nanoparticles with Low-Density Functional Ligands to Surfaces via Click Chemistry

We demonstrate the application of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (“click” reaction) to couple gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) functionalized with low densities of functional ligands. The ligand coverage on the citrate-stabilized Au NPs was adjusted by the ligand:Au surface atom ratio, while maintaining the colloidal stability of the Au NPs in aqueous solution. A procedure was developed to determine the driving forces governing the selectivity and reactivity of citrate-stabilized and ligand-functionalized Au NPs on patterned self-assembled monolayers. We observed selective and remarkably stable chemical bonding of the Au NPs to the complimentarily functionalized substrate areas, even when estimating that only 1–2 chemical bonds are formed between the particles and the substrate.     

A comparative theoretical study of Au,Ag and Cu adsorption on TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> (110) rutile surfaces

The adsorption properties of Au, Ag and Cu on TiO₂ (110) rutile surfaces are examined using density functional theory slab calculations within the generalized gradient approximation. We consider five and four different adsorption sites for the metal adsorption on the stoichiometric and reduced surfaces, respectively. The metal-oxide bonding mechanism and the reactivity of metal atoms are also discussed based on the analyses of local density of states and charge density differences. This study predicts that Au atoms prefer to adsorb at the fourfold hollow site over the fivefold-coordinated Ti(5c) and in-plane and bridging O(2c) atoms with the adsorption energy of ≈0.6 eV. At this site, it appears that the covalent and ionic interactions with the Ti(5c) and the O(2c), respectively, contribute synergistically to the Au adsorption. At a neutral F _s ⁰ center on the reduced surface, Au binds to the surface via a rather strong ionic interaction with surrounding sixfold-coordinated Ti(6c) atoms, and its binding energy is much larger than to the stoichiometric surface. On the other hand, Ag and Cu strongly interact with the surface bridging O(2c) atoms, and the site between two bridging O(2c) atoms is predicted to be energetically the most favorable adsorption site. The adsorption energies of Ag and Cu at the B site are estimated to be ≈1.2 eV and ≈1.8 eV, respectively. Unlike Au, the interaction of Ag and Cu with a vacancy defect is much weaker than with the stoichiometric surface. °This paper is dedicated to Professor Hyun-Ku Rhee on the occasion of his retirement from Seoul National University.     

In/Au(111)和Ir/Au(111)面上巴豆醛选择加氢的机理研究及比较

基于巴豆醛在M/Au（111）合金表面（M=In,Ir）垂直吸附的最稳定吸附结构,采用密度泛函理论对其不完全加氢的反应机理进行探究。从不同加氢机理下各基元反应的活化能、反应热计算以及构型变化分析中可知,巴豆醛在M/Au（111）面上均优先对距离合金表面较近的C＝O进行加氢,且以C为活性中心优先进行加氢为最优机理,其中第1步加氢反应的活化能较高,是该机理的控速步骤。反应物巴豆醛的O原子与合金的掺杂原子M形成较强的化学吸附,提高了M/Au（111）面对C＝O加氢的选择性。巴豆醛按最优机理加氢的基元反应中在In/Au（111）面上最高反应能垒为0.969 eV,比在Ir/Au（111）面的最高反应能垒1.332 eV低,因此认为In/Au合金对其不完全加氢有更好的催化活性。     

Reactivity and sintering kinetics of Au/TiO2(110) model catalysts: particle size effects

We review here our studies of the reactivity and sintering kinetics of model catalysts consisting of gold nanoparticles dispersed on TiO₂(110). First, the nucleation and growth of vapor-deposited gold on this surface was experimentally examined using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy ion scattering. Gold initially grows as two-dimensional islands up to a critical coverage, θ _cr, after which 3D gold nanoparticles grow. The results at different temperatures are fitted well with a kinetic model, which includes various energetic parameters for Au adatom migration. Oxygen was dosed onto the resulting gold nanoparticles using a hot filament technique. The desorption energy of O_a was examined using temperature programmed desorption (TPD). The O_a is bonded ~40% more strongly to smaller (thinner) Au islands. Gaseous CO reacts rapidly with this O_a to make CO₂, probably via adsorbed CO. The reactivity of O_a with CO increases with increasing particle size, as expected based on Br?nsted relations. Propene adsorption leads to TPD peaks for three different molecularly adsorbed states on Au/TiO₂(110), corresponding to propene adsorbed on gold islands, to Ti sites on the substrate, and to the perimeter of gold islands, with adsorption energies of 40, 52 and 73 kJ/mol, respectively. Thermal sintering of the gold nanoparticles was explored using temperature-programmed low-energy ion scattering. These sintering rates for a range of Au loadings at temperatures from 200 to 700 K were well fitted by a theoretical model which takes into consideration the dramatic effect of particle size on metal chemical potential using a modified bond additivity model. When extrapolated to simulate isothermal sintering at 700 K for 1 year, the resulting particle size distribution becomes very narrow. These results question claims that the shape of particle size distributions reveal their sintering mechanisms. They also suggest why the growth of colloidal nanoparticles in liquid solutions can result in very narrow particle size distributions.     

沉积-沉淀法制备金催化剂用于CO催化氧化的研究

采用沉积-沉淀法制备了一种介孔氧化铝负载的金催化剂用于CO的低温催化氧化,详细考察了催化剂制备条件、干燥条件和热处理条件对其催化性能的影响。采用X射线粉末衍射（XRD）、透射电镜（TEM）、低温N2物理吸附（N2-BET）、电感耦合等离子发射光谱（ICP-AES）和紫外-可见漫反射（Uv-vis DRS）等手段对催化剂进行了表征。实验结果表明,通过严格控制催化剂的制备条件、干燥条件和热处理条件,可以在惰性氧化铝载体上高重复性可控合成具有高分散度的金催化剂,金颗粒最佳平均粒径为2 nm,体现出良好的CO低温催化氧化性能。     

Catalysis by doped oxides: CO oxidation by AuxCe1−xO2

Density functional theory calculations for the CeO₂(111) surface doped with Au, Ag, and Cu show that the bond between the oxygen atoms and the oxide is weakened by presence of the dopant. In CO oxidation, doping of CeO₂ with Au allows the oxide to react readily with CO and make carbonates. These decompose to release CO₂ and form an oxygen vacancy on the surface. The vacancy adsorbs oxygen from the gas and weakens its bond, so that it reacts with CO to form a carbonate, which decomposes to release CO₂ and heal the oxygen vacancy. To be a good oxidation catalyst, a doped oxide must achieve a balance between two conflicting requirements: It must make surface oxygen reactive but not so much that it will hinder the healing of the oxygen vacancies created by the oxidation reaction.     

Generalization of thermodynamic Langmuir isotherm for mixed-gas adsorption equilibria

This work presents a comprehensive thermodynamic model for both pure component isotherms and mixed-gas adsorption equilibria. A generalization of thermodynamic Langmuir isotherm, the proposed model assumes competitive adsorption of multiple adsorbates on adsorbent surface for mixed-gas adsorption equilibria, and it applies an area-based adsorption nonrandom two-liquid activity coefficient model in the activity coefficient calculations for the adsorbate phase. The resulting generalized Langmuir isotherm properly captures both surface loading dependence and adsorbate phase composition dependence for mixed-gas adsorption equilibria. The model is validated with accurate representations of gas adsorption equilibrium data for varieties of unary, binary, and ternary gas systems. The model results are further compared with those calculated from extended Langmuir isotherm and Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory.     

CO2在La2O3(011)表面吸附和活化的DFT计算

运用广义梯度密度泛函理论方法(density functional theory,DFT),结合周期性平板模型,研究了CO2在La2O3(011)表面的吸附和活化,计算了CO2吸附的吸附能和Mulliken电荷数.结果表明,CO2在La2O3(011)表面吸附形成6种平衡构型,分别为CO2-η1、CO2-η2、CO2-...     

Global Optimization of Adsorbate–Surface Structures While Preserving Molecular Identity

As the complexity of atomistic simulations in catalysis and surface science increases, the challenge of manually finding the lowest-energy adsorbate–surface geometries grows significantly. In the current work, a global optimization approach that preserves adsorbate identity is applied to enable the automated search for optimized binding geometries. This technique is based on the minima hopping method developed by Goedecker, but is modified to preserve the molecular identity of adsorbates by the application of a new class of Hookean constraints. These constraints are completely inactive when the adsorbate identity is preserved, but act to restore the adsorbate structure via a Hookean force when the bond length exceeds a threshold distance. Additionally, a related Hookean constraint has been developed to prevent adsorbates (particularly such adsorbates as CO and CH₂O that have stable gas-phase forms) from volatilizing during the molecular dynamics portion of the minima hopping technique. This combination, referred to herein as the constrained minima hopping method, was tested for its suitability in finding the minimum-energy binding configuration for a set of 17 C _x H _y O _z adsorbates on a stepped Cu fcc(211) surface and in all cases found the global minima in comparable or fewer steps than the previous brute force methodologies. It is expected that methods such as this will be crucial to finding low-energy states in more complex systems, such as those with high coverages of adsorbed species or in the presence of explicit solvent molecules.     

Epoxidation of Propylene on a [Ag<Subscript>14</Subscript>O<Subscript>9</Subscript>] Cluster Representing Ag<Subscript>2</Subscript>O (001) Surface: A Density Functional Theory Study

Abstract  

Density functional theory calculations were employed to study partial oxidation of propylene on a [Ag₁₄O₉] cluster representing Ag₂O (001) surface for which positive effect for ethylene oxide formation has been reported in our earlier work at the same level of theory (Fellah et al., Catal Lett 141:762, 2011). Propylene oxide (PO), propanal, acetone and П-allyl radical formation reaction mechanisms were investigated. Π-allyl formation path and two propylene adsorption paths resulting in PO formation are competing reactions on silver oxide (001) surface because of their comparable activation barriers (9, 8 and 9 kcal/mol, respectively) while Π-allyl formation path is generally a more favorable path on Ag (111) surface as reported in previous theoretical literature. SO₂ adsorption calculations indicate that silver oxide has lower Lewis basicity relative to oxygen atom adsorbed on silver. Calculations also showed that surface oxygen atom of Ag₂O (001) has a higher spin density compared to that of oxygen atom adsorbed on Ag (111), which indicates that oxygen atom on Ag₂O (001) cluster has a more radical character.     

热改性活性炭吸附有机气体的性能

根据热重分析结果,确定了活性炭热改性的温度条件;采用Boehm滴定、傅式转换红外光谱仪（FTIR）、比表面积分析仪对活性炭表面物化性质进行了测试;以甲苯、丙酮、二氯乙烷、甲醇为吸附质,在283K下进行了固定床吸附实验,探讨了改性前后活性炭表面结构变化与吸附量之间的关系,同时计算了相应的动力学参数和吸附能。实验结果表明,热改性可以改善活性炭的孔径分布和改变表面官能团的分布,吸附量与有效孔容呈明显的线性关系;一阶动力学方程和二阶动力学方程均可描述四种吸附质在活性炭上的吸附过程;孔内扩散模型表明改性活性炭对有机气体的吸附速率均大于未改性活性炭;四种吸附质在活性炭上的吸附能均小于20kJ?mol-1,表明活性炭对四种有机气体以物理吸附为主。