Experimental and Theoretical Study of Hydrogen Atom Abstraction from n-Butane by Lanthanum Oxide Cluster Anions

Threshold Photoionization and Density Functional Theory Investigations of Small Lanthanum Monoxide Clusters, LanO (n = 2-10)

Small lanthanum monoxide clusters, LanO (n = 2-10), have been studied by laser threshold photoionization (PI) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT). Ionization energies (IEs) gradually decrease with cluster size with oscillatory behavior at certain sizes at n = 4, 7, and 9, and the IEs are slightly lower than the corresponding bare Lan clusters. Mulliken charge analysis of the neutral and cation clusters indicates that the threshold PI occurs from a delocalized metal-based 5d orbital. The stable geometric structures and IEs for the LanO (n = 2-8) clusters have been determined from DFT. Zero electron kinetic energy and PI spectra have been calculated based on DFT calculations and compared with the experimental PI spectra. On the basis of favorable agreement between the simulated and experimental PI spectra, reliable ground-state geometric structures have been assigned. The O atom is negatively charged, equivalent to one electronic charge mainly transferred from La atoms bonded to it. Chemical bonding between the La and O atoms is ionic, whereas La atoms are mostly covalently bonded. No direct correlation is found between the electronic properties like the IE, electron affinity, and HOMO-LUMO gap and the stability of these clusters.

Size Effects in Gas-phase C-H Activation

The gas-phase clusters reaction permits addressing fundamental aspects of the challenges related to C-H activation. The size effect plays a key role in the activation processes as it may substantially affect both the reactivity and selectivity. In this paper, we reviewed the size effect related to the hydrocarbon oxidation by early transition metal oxides and main group metal oxides, methane activation mediated by late transition metals. Based on mass-spectrometry experiments in conjunction with quantum chemical calculations, mechanistic discussions were reviewed to present how and why the size greatly regulates the reactivity and product distribution.

Correlation between the acid-base properties of the La2O3 catalyst and its methane reactivity

Density functional theory and coupled cluster theory calculations were carried out to study the effects of the acid-base properties of the La2O3 catalyst on its catalytic activity in the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reaction. The La(3+)-O(2-) pair site for CH4 activation is considered as a Lewis acid-Brönsted base pair. Using the Lewis acidity and the Brönsted basicity in the fluoride affinity and proton affinity scales as quantitative measures of the acid-base properties, the energy barrier for CH4 activation at the pair site can be linearly correlated with these acid-base properties. The pair site consisting of a strong Lewis acid La(3+) site and a strong Brönsted base O(2-) site is the most reactive for CH4 activation. In addition, the basicity of the La2O3 catalyst was traditionally measured by temperature-programmed desorption of CO2, but the CO2 chemisorption energy is better regarded as a combined measure of the acid-base properties of the pair site. A linear relationship of superior quality was found between the energy barrier for CH4 activation and the CO2 chemisorption energy, and the pair site favorable for CO2 chemisorption is also more reactive for CH4 activation, leading to the conflicting role of the "basicity" of the La2O3 catalyst in the OCM reaction. The necessity for very high reaction temperatures in the OCM reaction is rationalized by the requirement for the recovery of the most reactive acid-base pair site, which unfortunately also reacts most readily with the byproduct CO2 to form the very stable CO3(2-) species.

C-H bond activation by oxygen-centered radicals over atomic clusters

Saturated hydrocarbons, or alkanes, are major constituents of natural gas and oil. Directly transforming alkanes into more complex organic compounds is a value-adding process, but the task is very difficult to achieve, especially at low temperature. Alkanes can react at high temperature, but these reactions (with oxygen, for example) are difficult to control and usually proceed to carbon dioxide and water, the thermodynamically stable byproducts. Consequently, a great deal of research effort has been focused on generating and studying chemical entities that are able to react with alkanes or efficiently activate C-H bonds at lower temperatures, preferably room temperature. To identify low-temperature methods of C-H bond activation, researchers have investigated free radicals, that is, species with open-shell electronic structures. Oxygen-centered radicals are typical of the open-shell species that naturally occur in atmospheric, chemical, and biological systems. In this Account, we survey atomic clusters that contain oxygen-centered radicals (O(-•)), with an emphasis on radical generation and reaction with alkanes near room temperature. Atomic clusters are an intermediate state of matter, situated between isolated atoms and condensed-phase materials. Atomic clusters containing the O(-•) moiety have generated promising results for low-temperature C-H bond activation. After a brief introduction to the experimental methods and the compositions of atomic clusters that contain O(-•) radicals, we focus on two important factors that can dramatically influence C-H bond activation. The first factor is spin. The O(-•)-containing clusters have unpaired spin density distributions over the oxygen atoms. We show that the nature of the unpaired spin density distribution, such as localization and delocalization within the clusters, heavily influences the reactivity of O(-•) radicals in C-H bond activation. The second factor is charge. The O(-•)-containing clusters can be negatively charged, positively charged, or neutral overall. We discuss how the charge state may influence C-H bond activation. Moreover, for a given charge state, such as the cationic state, it can be demonstrated that local charge distribution around the O(-•) centers can also significantly change the reactivity in C-H bond activation. Through judicious synthetic choices, spin and charge can be readily controllable physical quantities in atomic clusters. The adjustment of these two properties can impact C-H bond activation, thus constituting an important consideration in the rational design of catalysts for practical alkane transformations.