Size-Dependent Carbon Monoxide Adsorption on Neutral Gold Clusters

Probing the binding and activation of small molecules by gas-phase transition metal clusters via IR spectroscopy

Isolated transition metal clusters have been established as useful models for extended metal surfaces or deposited metal particles, to improve the understanding of their surface chemistry and of catalytic reactions. For this objective, an important milestone has been the development of experimental methods for the size-specific structural characterization of clusters and cluster complexes in the gas phase. This review focusses on the characterization of molecular ligands, their binding and activation by small transition metal clusters, using cluster-size specific infrared action spectroscopy. A comprehensive overview and a critical discussion of the experimental data available to date is provided, reaching from the initial results obtained using line-tuneable CO₂ lasers to present-day studies applying infrared free electron lasers as well as other intense and broadly tuneable IR laser sources.

Tetrahedral Pt10- Cluster with Unique Beta Aromaticity and Superatomic Feature in Mimicking Methane

Utilizing a customized metal cluster source in tandem with a flow tube reactor and a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer, we have obtained well-resolved pure metal clusters Pt_n^- and observed their gas-phase reactions with a few small gas molecules. Interestingly, the remarkable inertness of Pt₁₀^- was repeatedly observed in different reactions. Meanwhile, we have determined the structure of Pt₁₀^- within a regular tetrahedron. Considering that Pt possesses 5d⁹6s¹ electron configuration, the tetrahedral Pt₁₀^- exhibits unexpected stability at neither a magic number of valence electrons nor a shell closure of geometric structure. Comprehensive theoretical calculations unveil the stability of Pt₁₀^- is significantly associated with the all-metal aromaticity. In addition to the classical total aromaticity, which is mainly due to 6s electrons, there is unique beta-aromaticity ascribed to spin-polarized beta 5d electrons pertaining to singly occupied multicenter bonds. Further, we demonstrate the superatomic feature of such a transition metal cluster Pt₁₀^-, as Pt₆@Pt₄^-, in mimicking methane.

The structures of cationic gold clusters probed by far-infrared spectroscopy

Determining the precise structures of small gold clusters is an essential step towards understanding their chemical and physical properties. Due to the relativistic nature of gold, its clusters remain planar (2D) up to appreciable sizes. Ion mobility experiments have suggested that positively charged gold clusters adopt three-dimensional (3D) structures from n = 8 onward. Computations predict, depending on the level of theory, 2D or 3D structures as putative energy-minimum for n = 8. In this work, far-infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy, using Ar as tagging element, is combined with density-functional theory calculations to determine the structures of Au_n⁺ (n≤ 9) clusters formed by laser ablation. While the Au frameworks in Au₆Ar_m⁺ and Au₇Ar_m⁺ complexes are confirmed to be planar and that in Au₉Ar_m⁺ three-dimensional, we demonstrate the coexistence of 3D and planar Au₈Ar_m⁺ (m = 1-3) isomers. Thus, it is revealed that at finite temperatures, the formal 2D to 3D transition takes place at n = 8 but is not sharp.

Towards Atomically Precise Supported Catalysts from Monolayer-Protected Clusters: The Critical Role of the Support

Controlling the size and uniformity of metal clusters with atomic precision is essential for fine-tuning their catalytic properties, however for clusters deposited on supports, such control is challenging. Here, by combining X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations, it is shown that supports play a crucial role in the evolution of monolayer-protected clusters into catalysts. Based on the acidic nature of the support, cluster-support interactions lead either to fragmentation of the cluster into isolated Au-ligand species or ligand-free metallic Au⁰ clusters. On Lewis acidic supports that bind metals strongly, the latter transformation occurs while preserving the original size of the metal cluster, as demonstrated for various Au_n sizes. These findings underline the role of the support in the design of supported catalysts and represent an important step toward the synthesis of atomically precise supported nanomaterials with tailored physico-chemical properties.

Tuning the Reactivity of Small Metal Clusters by Heteroatom Doping

The reactivity of small metallic clusters, nanoparticles composed of a countable number of atoms (typically up to ∼100 atoms), has attracted much attention due to the fascinating properties these objects possess toward a variety of molecules. Cluster reactivity often is significantly different from the homologous bulk, with gold as prototypical example. Bulk gold is the noblest of all metals, whereas small gold clusters react with carbon monoxide, molecular oxygen, and hydrocarbons, among others. Furthermore, cluster reactivity is strongly size and composition dependent, allowing a wide range of tuning possibilities. The study of cluster reactivity usually follows two routes of investigation. In the first, research aims for fundamental understanding of mechanisms, mainly driven by curiosity. One consequence of the inherent small size of a cluster is that atoms can arrange themselves very differently from the crystallographic structure of the homologous bulk. In addition, quantum confinement effects dominate the electronic structure of a cluster with atom-like electronic shells instead of the electronic bands in bulk. These features result in a very rich and size-dependent interaction of a cluster with small molecules, governed by a fine interplay between the geometry and the electronic structure of the system. An alternative research approach uses the investigation of chemical reactions of isolated small clusters in the gas phase as model systems for the reactions taking place in more complex systems. This offers several advantages compared to more conventional methods and techniques used to study such complex systems. First, clusters can be produced under well-defined conditions, with control over size, composition, and charge state. Second, clusters in the gas phase solely interact with the molecule(s) chosen by the researcher, since contaminations are limited by the high vacuum conditions of the experiments. Third, due to the small number of atoms involved, detailed quantum chemical calculations can be performed on the systems under investigation. Thus, even though gas phase clusters differ significantly in size and in environmental conditions from those encountered, for example, in industrial catalysis, they can be used to unravel the complicated nature of a metal-molecule chemical bonding process. In this Account, both routes of investigation are discussed. The nature of the interaction between small gas phase clusters with diverse molecules is described, stressing the broader relevance of these studies. Particular emphasis is given to the effect of heteroatom doping. By adding a different element to a cluster, its geometric and electronic structure is modified, thereby altering its reactivity. Specifically, the effect of varying size and composition of doped gold, platinum, and aluminum clusters on their reactivity toward diverse molecules, relevant for catalytic applications, is discussed. Most studies presented here combine experiments based on mass spectrometric techniques with density functional theory calculations, allowing a deep understanding of the reaction mechanisms at a molecular level.

Aluminum cluster for CO and O2 adsorption

Low temperature oxidation of CO to CO₂ is an important process for the environment. Similarly adsorption of CO from the releasing sources is also of major concern today. Whereas the potential of gold and silver clusters is well proven for the catalysis of the above mentioned reaction, the potential of aluminum (Al) clusters remains unexplored. The present study proves that, similar to the transition metals, Al clusters can also be used for adsorption of gases. We first tested the potential of Al cluster as adsorbents for CO. The high binding energy (BE) values prove that Al clusters can be used for adsorbing both CO and O₂. Since oxygen binding is more facile, we adsorbed oxygen on Al and then checked the effect of this O₂ on the BE of CO. The results were obtained by DFT calculations at M062X/TZVP level of theory. Graphical abstract Activation of carbon monoxide (CO) on oxygen-adsorbed aluminum (Al) cluster.

Determination of CO Adsorption Sites on Gold Clusters Au n- ( n = 21-25): A Size Region That Bridges the Pyramidal and Core-Shell Structures

We perform a joint photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical study to investigate CO adsorption sites on midsized gold clusters, Au _n^- ( n = 21-25), a special size region that bridges the highly symmetric pyramidal cluster Au₂₀^- (Li et al. Science 2003, 299, 864) and the prevailing core-shell clusters starting from Au₂₆^- (Schaefer et al. ACS Nano 2014, 8, 7413). Particular attention is placed on whether the CO binding can significantly change structures of the host clusters in view of the fact that the size-dependent structural change already occurs for bare gold clusters in this size range. A transition from hollow-tubular to fused-planar structures is identified for the Au _nCO^- clusters even though the CO molecule mostly binds to an apex gold atom. The computed CO adsorption energy and HOMO-LUMO gap of the gold clusters suggest that among the five gold clusters the Au₂₃^- cluster exhibits the strongest CO binding and thereby could be a good catalytic model system.

Metal Cluster Models for Heterogeneous Catalysis: A Matrix-Isolation Perspective

Metal cluster models are of high relevance for establishing new mechanistic concepts for heterogeneous catalysis. The high reactivity and particular selectivity of metal clusters is caused by the wealth of low-lying electronically excited states that are often thermally populated. Thereby the metal clusters are flexible with regard to their electronic structure and can adjust their states to be appropriate for the reaction with a particular substrate. The matrix isolation technique is ideally suited for studying excited state reactivity. The low matrix temperatures (generally 4-40 K) of the noble gas matrix host guarantee that all clusters are in their electronic ground-state (with only a very few exceptions). Electronically excited states can then be selectively populated and their reactivity probed. Unfortunately, a systematic research in this direction has not been made up to date. The purpose of this review is to provide the grounds for a directed approach to understand cluster reactivity through matrix-isolation studies combined with quantum chemical calculations.

Adsorption of Propene on Neutral Gold Clusters in the Gas Phase

The adsorption of propene on neutral gold clusters is investigated in a collision cell under a few collision conditions. The adsorption reaction is studied by pressure-dependent kinetic measurements and delayed unimolecular dissociation of the excited Aun propene complexes. The cluster size (n=9-25) and temperature (T=90-300 K) dependence of the propene adsorption is analyzed. Strong size dependences of the absorption reaction are observed; a larger propene adsorption probability was found for gold clusters composed of an even number of atoms. Propene binding energies are estimated by comparison of the temperature-dependent unimolecular dissociation rates with rates obtained by using statistical RRKM modeling. The Aun -propene binding energies decrease non-monotonously with cluster size and are in the range of 1.2-0.85 eV for n=9-25. Finally, the bonding of C3 H6 on Aun is qualitatively described and similarities with the absorption of CO molecules on gold clusters are discussed.

Oxidation reactions on neutral cobalt oxide clusters: experimental and theoretical studies

Reactions of neutral cobalt oxide clusters (Co(m)O(n), m = 3-9, n = 3-13) with CO, NO, C(2)H(2), and C(2)H(4) in a fast flow reactor are investigated by time of flight mass spectrometry employing 118 nm (10.5 eV) single photon ionization. Strong cluster size dependent behavior is observed for all the oxidation reactions; the Co(3)O(4) cluster has the highest reactivity for reactions with CO and NO. Cluster reactivity is also highly correlated with either one or more following factors: cluster size, Co(iii) concentration, the number of the cobalt atoms with high oxidation states, and the presence of an oxygen molecular moiety (an O-O bond) in the Co(m)O(n) clusters. The experimental cluster observations are in good agreement with condensed phase Co(3)O(4) behavior. Density functional theory calculations at the BPW91/TZVP level are carried out to explore the geometric and electronic structures of the Co(3)O(4) cluster, reaction intermediates, transition states, as well as reaction mechanisms. CO, NO, C(2)H(2), and C(2)H(4) are predicted to be adsorbed on the Co(ii) site, and react with one of the parallel bridge oxygen atoms between two Co(iii) atoms in the Co(3)O(4) cluster. Oxidation reactions with CO, NO, and C(2)H(2) on the Co(3)O(4) cluster are estimated as thermodynamically favorable and overall barrierless processes at room temperature. The oxidation reaction with C(2)H(4) is predicted to have a very small overall barrier (<0.23 eV). The oxygen bridge between two Co(iii) sites in the Co(3)O(4) cluster is responsible for the oxidation reactions with CO, NO, C(2)H(2), and C(2)H(4). Based on the gas phase experimental and theoretical cluster studies, a catalytic cycle for these oxidation reactions on a condensed phase cobalt oxide catalyst is proposed.

O2 evolution on a clean partially reduced rutile TiO2(110) surface and on the same surface precovered with Au1 and Au2: the importance of spin conservation

We have used spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) to study O(2) evolution on a clean partially reduced rutile TiO(2)(110) surface (i.e., a surface having oxygen vacancies) and its interaction with Au(1) or Au(2) cluster adsorbed on it. We assume that the total spin of the electronic wave function is related to the number of unpaired spins (N(s)) and calculate the binding and the activation energies involved in O(2) evolution for fixed values of N(s). In addition to keeping N(s) constant, we assume that reactions in which the N(s) of the reactants differs from that of the products are very slow. The potential energy surfaces obtained in this way depend strongly on N(s). For example, O(2) dissociation at the vacancy site on a clean partially reduced TiO(2)(110) surface is exothermic by 0.85 eV in the triplet state and the highest activation energy in the chain of reactions leading to the O(2) dissociation is 0.67 eV. In the singlet state, O(2) dissociation is endothermic by 0.11 eV and the activation energy leading to dissociation is 1.30 eV. These observations are in qualitative agreement with scanning tunneling microscopy experiment in which O(2) dissociation on a partially reduced rutile TiO(2)(110) surface is observed at temperature as low as 120 K. In contrast, O(2) dissociation is predicted to be endothermic and is prevented by an activation barrier larger than 1 eV in all the previous DFT calculations, in which the DFT program varies N(s) to get the lowest energy state. We find that on a partially reduced rutile TiO(2)(110) with Au(1) and Au(2) preadsorbed on its surface, O(2) dissociates at the vacancy site: One oxygen atom fills the oxygen vacancy and the other becomes available for oxidation chemistry. This means that Au(1) and Au(2) supported on a partially reduced TiO(2)(110) surface is not an oxidation catalyst since the presence of oxygen turns it into a stoichiometric Au(n)/TiO(2)(110) surface. Finally, we find that the evolution of oxygen on Au(1) and Au(2) in the gas phase is very different from the evolution on the same clusters supported on the partially reduced TiO(2)(110) surface. For example, the molecular adsorption of O(2) is favored in the gas phase (except on Au(1) (-) and Au(2) (-) in the quartet state), while the dissociative adsorption is favored by more than 1 eV when Au(1) and Au(2) are supported on the partially reduced TiO(2)(110). Furthermore, the activation energies associated with O(2) dissociation in the gas phase (DeltaE(act)>2.4 eV) are reduced by at least a factor of 2 when the clusters are supported on TiO(2)(110).

CO adsorption on pure and binary-alloy gold clusters: a quantum chemical study

We performed density-functional theory analysis of nondissociative CO adsorption on 22 binary Au-alloy (Au(n)M(m)) clusters: n=0-3, m=0-3, and m+n=2 (dimers) or 3 (trimers), M=Cu/Ag/Pd/Pt. We report basis-set superposition error corrections to adsorption energies and include both internal energy of adsorption (DeltaU(ads)) and Gibbs free energy of adsorption (DeltaG(ads)) at standard conditions (298.15 K and 1 atm). We found onefold (atop) CO binding on all the clusters except Pd2 (twofold/bridged), Pt2 (twofold/bridged), and Pd3 (threefold). In agreement with the experimental results, we found that CO adsorption is thermodynamically favorable on pure Au/Cu clusters but not on pure Ag clusters and also observed the following adsorption affinity trend: Pd>Pt>Au>Cu>Ag. For alloy dimers we found the following patterns: Au2>M Au>M2 (M=Ag/Cu) and M2>M Au>Au2 (M=Pd/Pt). Alloying Ag/Cu dimers with (more reactive) Au enhanced adsorption and the opposite effect was observed for PdPt dimers. The Ag-Au, Cu-Au, and Pd-Au trimers followed the trends observed on dimers: Au3>M Au2>M2Au>M3 (M=Ag/Cu) and Pd3>Pd2Au>PdAu2>Au3. Interestingly, Pt-Au trimers reacted differently and alloying with Au systematically increased the adsorption affinity: PtAu2>Pt2Au>Pt3>Au3. A strikingly different behavior of Pt is also manifested by the triplet spin state and onefold (atop) binding in Pt3-CO which is in contradiction with the singlet spin state and threefold binding in Pd3-CO. We found a linear correlation between CO binding energy (BE) and elongation of the CO bond. For Ag-Au and Cu-Au clusters, the increase in CO BE (and elongation of the C-O bond which is probably due to the back donation) is accompanied by the decrease in the cluster-CO distance suggesting that the donation (from 5sigma highest occupied molecular orbital in CO to cluster lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) mechanism also contributes to the BE. For Pd-Au clusters, the cluster-CO distance (and CO bond length) increases with increase in the BE, suggesting that the donation mechanism may not be important for those clusters. No clear trend was observed for Pt-Au clusters.