Gold-Titania Catalysts for Low-Temperature Oxidation and Water Splitting

Designing Sites in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Are We Reaching Selectivities Competitive With Those of Homogeneous Catalysts?

A critical review of different prominent nanotechnologies adapted to catalysis is provided, with focus on how they contribute to the improvement of selectivity in heterogeneous catalysis. Ways to modify catalytic sites range from the use of the reversible or irreversible adsorption of molecular modifiers to the immobilization or tethering of homogeneous catalysts and the development of well-defined catalytic sites on solid surfaces. The latter covers methods for the dispersion of single-atom sites within solid supports as well as the use of complex nanostructures, and it includes the post-modification of materials via processes such as silylation and atomic layer deposition. All these methodologies exhibit both advantages and limitations, but all offer new avenues for the design of catalysts for specific applications. Because of the high cost of most nanotechnologies and the fact that the resulting materials may exhibit limited thermal or chemical stability, they may be best aimed at improving the selective synthesis of high value-added chemicals, to be incorporated in organic synthesis schemes, but other applications are being explored as well to address problems in energy production, for instance, and to design greener chemical processes. The details of each of these approaches are discussed, and representative examples are provided. We conclude with some general remarks on the future of this field.

Infrared spectroscopic monitoring of solid-state processes

We put a spotlight on IR spectroscopic investigations in materials science by providing a critical insight into the state of the art, covering both fundamental aspects, examples of its utilisation, and current challenges and perspectives focusing on the solid state.

Introducing catalysis in photocatalysis: What can be understood from surface science studies of alcohol photoreforming on TiO2

Mechanisms in heterogeneous photocatalysis have traditionally been interpreted by the band-structure model and analogously to electrochemistry. This has led to the establishment of 'band-engineering' as a leading principle for the discovery of more efficient photocatalysts. In such a picture, mainly thermodynamic aspects are taken into account, while kinetics are often ignored. This holds in particular for chemical kinetics, which are, other than those for charge carrier dynamics, often not at all considered for the interpretation of the catalysts' photocatalytic performance. However, while being usually neglected in photocatalyis, they are a traditional and powerful tool in thermal catalysis and are still applied with great success in this field. While surface science studies made substantial contributes to thermal catalysis, analogous studies in heterogeneous photocatalysis still play only a minor role. In this review, the authors show that the photo-physics of defined materials in well-defined environments can be correlated with photochemical events on a surface, highlighting the importance of well-characterized semiconductors for the interpretation of mechanisms in heterogeneous photochemistry. The work focuses on contributions from surface science, which were obtained for the model system of a titania single crystal and alcohol photo-reforming. It is demonstrated that only surface science studies have so far enabled the elucidation of molecularly precise reaction mechanisms, the determination of reaction intermediates and assignment of reactive sites. As the identification of these properties remain major prerequisites for a breakthrough in photocatalysis research, the work also discusses the implications of the findings for applied systems. In general, the results from surface science demonstrate that photocatalytic systems shall also be approached by a perspective originating from heterogeneous catalysis rather than solely from an electrochemical point of view.

The Success Story of Gold-Based Catalysts for Gas- and Liquid-Phase Reactions: A Brief Perspective and Beyond

Gold has long held the fascination of mankind. For millennia it has found use in art, cosmetic metallurgy and architecture; this element is seen as the ultimate statement of prosperity and beauty. This myriad of uses is made possible by the characteristic inertness of bulk gold; allowing it to appear long lasting and above the tarnishing experienced by other metals, in part providing its status as the most noble metal.

Plasmonic photocatalysis applied to solar fuels

We show the impact of structural, chemical and interfacial features of gold–titania composites on solar and visible photocatalytic gas phase reduction of CO₂ and the specificities of the hot electron-based process.