Reactions of Laser-Ablated Platinum and Palladium Atoms with Dioxygen. Matrix Infrared Spectra and Density Functional Calculations of Platinum Oxides and Complexes and Palladium Complexes

A sulfur monoxide complex of platinum fluoride with a positively charged ligand

A sulfur monoxide complex of platinum fluoride in the form of PtF₂(η¹-SO) was generated via the isomerization of a molecular complex Pt(SOF₂) in cryogenic matrixes under UV-vis irradiation. The infrared absorptions observed at 1205.4, 619.8 and 594.9 cm^-1 are assigned to the S-O, antisymmetric and symmetric F-Pt-F stretching vibrations of the PtF₂(η¹-SO) complex, which possesses nonplanar C_s symmetry with a singlet ground state according to density functional theory calculations. The experimental vibrational frequency and computed distance (1.449 Å) of the SO ligand indicate that the SO ligand features a positively charged character, which is further confirmed by natural bond orbital analysis and Mayer bond order. Such character is completely different from that for early transition metal-SO complexes and dioxygen complexes of platinum. Formation of the PtF₂(η¹-SO) complex was found to occur via the consecutive transfer of the two fluorine atoms from SOF₂ to Pt in the sulfur bound Pt(SOF₂) complex, which involves a series of intermediates on the basis of the mechanism study at the B3LYP level. Although the whole process is hindered by the large energy barrier encountered during the transfer of the first fluorine atom, UV-vis irradiation can provide sufficient energy to surmount this barrier and facilitates the formation of the nonplanar PtF₂(η¹-SO) complex stabilized in matrix.

Observation and Characterization of the Hg-O Diatomic Molecule: A Matrix-Isolation and Quantum-Chemical Investigation

Mercuric oxide is a well-known and stable solid, but the diatomic molecule Hg-O is very fragile and does not survive detection in the gas phase. However, laser ablation of Hg atoms from a dental amalgam alloy target into argon or neon containing about 0.3 % of ¹⁶ O₂ or of ¹⁸ O₂ during their condensation into a cryogenic matrix at 4 K allows the formation of O atoms which react on annealing to make ozone and new IR absorptions in solid argon at 521.2 cm^-1 for Hg-¹⁶ O or at 496.4 cm^-1 for Hg-¹⁸ O with the oxygen isotopic frequency ratio 521.2/496.4=1.0499. Solid neon gives a 529.0 cm^-1 absorption with a small 7.8 cm^-1 blue shift. CCSD(T) calculations found 594 cm^-1 for Hg¹⁶ O and 562 cm^-1 for Hg¹⁸ O (frequency ratio=1.0569). Such calculations usually produce harmonic frequencies that are slightly higher than the anharmonic (observed) values, which supports their relationship. These observed frequencies have the isotopic shift predicted for Hg-O and are within the range of recent high-level frequency calculations for the Hg-O molecule. Spectra for the related mercury superoxide and ozonide species are also considered for the first time.

Structure determination and bonding properties of gas-phase OPt2- anion and its neutral form

Using anion photoelectron spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations, the structures and properties of OPt₂^-/0 are investigated. The vertical detachment energies (VDEs) of OPt₂^- are measured to be 3.28 eV and 3.23 eV through the use of 355 and 266 nm photons, respectively. The high experimental VDEs of OPt₂^- can be attributed to the strong Pt-Pt and Pt-O σ bonds and low orbital energy of the SOMO. It is found that neutral OPt₂ has an OPt₂ triangular structure with C_2v symmetry and ¹A₁ electronic state. In the neutral OPt₂, the O atom interacts with the Pt₂ moiety by two 2c-2e PtO bonds, one 3c-2e Pt₂O σ bond, and one 3c-2e Pt₂O π bond. On the other hand, anionic OPt₂ adopts a Pt-Pt-O bent structure with C_s symmetry and ²A' electronic state. NPA and ELF analyses indicate charge transfer upon complexation from the metal atoms to the O atom. Chemical bonding analyses show that OPt₂^-/0 have the strong covalent Pt-Pt and Pt-O bonds, and neutral OPt₂ exhibits σ aromaticity and π antiaromaticity.

Dehydrogenation of Ethylene on Supported Palladium Nanoparticles: A Double View from Metal and Hydrocarbon Sides

Adsorption of ethylene on palladium, a key step in various catalytic reactions, may result in a variety of surface-adsorbed species and formation of palladium carbides, especially under industrially relevant pressures and temperatures. Therefore, the application of both surface and bulk sensitive techniques under reaction conditions is important for a comprehensive understanding of ethylene interaction with Pd-catalyst. In this work, we apply in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy to follow the evolution of the bulk and surface structure of an industrial catalysts consisting of 2.6 nm supported palladium nanoparticles upon exposure to ethylene under atmospheric pressure at 50 °C. Experimental results were complemented by ab initio simulations of atomic structure, X-ray absorption spectra and vibrational spectra. The adsorbed ethylene was shown to dehydrogenate to C2H3, C2H2 and C2H species, and to finally decompose to palladium carbide. Thus, this study reveals the evolution pathway of ethylene on industrial Pd-catalyst under atmospheric pressure at moderate temperatures, and provides a conceptual framework for the experimental and theoretical investigation of palladium-based systems, in which both surface and bulk structures exhibit a dynamic nature under reaction conditions.

Structures and Superhalogen Properties of Pt2Cl n (2 ≤ n ≤ 10) Clusters

Laser ablation mass spectrometry was applied to study the cluster anions of Pt₂Cl _n^-. Among them, Pt₂Cl₆^- and Pt₂Cl₉^- were observed with remarkable intensities in the mass spectrum. Collision-activated dissociation experiments were also performed for the two anions. A systematic study of the structures and electron affinities (EAs) of Pt_1-2Cl _n (2 ≤ n ≤ 10) clusters was performed on the level of B3LYP/Lanl2dz/6-311++G(2d, p). For both systems, their EAs do not increase monotonically with the increase of Cl atoms. All the clusters of PtCl _n (3 ≤ n ≤ 10) and Pt₂Cl _n (3 ≤ n ≤ 10) show EAs larger than that of the Cl atom. The highest EAs for the series of Pt₂Cl _n and PtCl _n are 6.55 and 5.82 eV, corresponding to those of Pt₂Cl₉ and PtCl₉, respectively. The results indicate that these clusters might be applied as effective units in constructing new "hypersalts".

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.

Ab initio calculations on the ground and excited electronic states of neutral and charged palladium monoxide, PdO0,+,−

Multi-reference configuration interaction and coupled cluster calculations were carried out for the ground and several low-lying excited electronic states for PdO, PdO⁺, and PdO⁻. The photoelectron spectrum peaks of PdO were assigned.

Scalable Mesoporous Platinum Diselenide Nanosheet Synthesis in Water

Newly discovered two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystals (nanosheet) of platinum diselenide (PtSe₂) have progressively attracted attention due to their expected high performance in catalysis, sensing, electronics, and optoelectronics applications. Further extraordinary physicochemical properties are expected if these nanosheets of platinum diselenide can possess mesoporosity as this may enable a high range of molecular adsorption, enhancing their functionalities in catalysis, batteries, supercapacitors, and sensing. Here, we present for the first time a straightforward, aqueous-phase synthetic strategy for the preparation of scalable nanosheets of platinum diselenide with mesoporous structure via a surfactant-templated self-assembly followed by a thermal annealing phase-transformation process. We used hexamethylenetetramine as a hexagonal honeycomb (sp²-sp³ orbital) scaffold for assembling the Pt and Se organic complexes to form the nanosheet structure, which is stable, preserving the 2D structure and mesoporosity during a thermal annealing at 500 °C. Density functional theory analysis then indicated that the mesoporous nanosheets of platinum diselenide exhibit a high free-energy and large density of π electrons crossing the Fermi level, inferring a high-catalytic performance. This effortless strategy is currently being extended to the synthesis of other transition metal dichalcogenides, including the preparation of multi-metal atomic dichalcogenide nanosheets, for a wide variety of scientific and technological applications.

Theoretical study on the gas-phase reaction mechanism between palladium monoxide and methane

The gas-phase reaction mechanism between palladium monoxide and methane has been theoretically investigated on the singlet and triplet state potential energy surfaces (PESs) at the CCSD(T)/AVTZ//B3LYP/6-311+G(2d, 2p), SDD level. The major reaction channel leads to the products PdCH(2) + H(2)O, whereas the minor channel results in the products Pd + CH(3)OH, CH(2)OPd + H(2), and PdOH + CH(3). The minimum energy reaction pathway for the formation of main products (PdCH(2) + H(2)O), involving one spin inversion, prefers to start at the triplet state PES and afterward proceed along the singlet state PES, where both CH(3)PdOH and CH(3)Pd(O)H are the critical intermediates. Furthermore, the rate-determining step is RS-CH(3) PdOH → RS-2-TS1cb → RS-CH(2)Pd(H)OH with the rate constant of k = 1.48 × 10(12) exp(-93,930/RT). For the first C-H bond cleavage, both the activation strain ΔE(≠)(strain) and the stabilizing interaction ΔE(≠)(int) affect the activation energy ΔE(≠), with ΔE(≠)(int) in favor of the direct oxidative insertion. On the other hand, in the PdCH(2) + H(2) O reaction, the main products are Pd + CH(3)OH, and CH(3)PdOH is the energetically preferred intermediate. In the CH(2)OPd + H(2) reaction, the main products are Pd + CH(3)OH with the energetically preferred intermediate H(2)PdOCH(2). In the Pd + CH(3)OH reaction, the main products are CH(2)OPd + H(2), and H(2)PdOCH(2) is the energetically predominant intermediate. The intermediates, PdCH(2), H(2) PdCO, and t-HPdCHO are energetically preferred in the PdC + H(2), PdCO + H(2), and H(2)Pd + CO reactions, respectively. Besides, PdO toward methane activation exhibits higher reaction efficiency than the atom Pd and its first-row congener NiO.

Water adsorption on platinum dioxide and dioxygen complex: matrix isolation infrared spectroscopic and theoretical study of three PtO(2)-H(2)O complexes

The interactions of water molecule with platinum dioxygen complex and dioxide molecule are investigated by means of matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy and density functional calculations. The platinum atoms reacted with dioxygen to form the previously reported Pt(O(2)) complex. The Pt(O(2)) complex reacted with water molecule to give the Pt(O(2))-H(2)O complex, which was characterized to involve hydrogen bonding between one O atom of Pt(O(2)) and one H atom of H(2)O (structure A). Upon visible light irradiation, the hydrogen bonded Pt(O(2))HOH complex rearranged to another Pt(O(2))-H(2)O isomer (structure B), which involves (O(2))PtOH(2) interaction. The Pt(O(2))-H(2)O complex in structure B can be isomerized to the weakly bound platinum dioxide-water complex (structure C) under UV irradiation.

Matrix isolation infrared spectroscopic and theoretical study of nickel, palladium, and platinum nitrous oxide complexes

Binary nickel, palladium, and platinum nitrous oxide complexes Ni(NNO)x, Pd(NNO)x (x = 1, 2), and PtNNO have been produced by the reactions of laser-evaporated metal atoms with nitrous oxide in solid argon. The complexes were identified on the basis of isotopically substituted infrared absorptions as well as theoretical frequency calculations. These complexes were characterized to have structures with the terminal N atom of N(2)O bound to the metal atoms. The MNNO complexes are photosensitive and rearrange to OMNN or MO + N(2) upon ultraviolet-visible irradiation.

Theoretical studies on vibrational spectra of some halides of group IVB elements

The vibrational spectra of group IVB elements halides MX4 (M=Ti(IV), Zr(IV), Hf(II); X=F, Cl, Br and I), have been investigated by ab initio RHF, MP2 and density functional theory B3LYP method with LanL2DZ basis sets. The optimized geometries, calculated vibrational frequencies and Far-IR intensities of MX4 are evaluated via comparison with experimental data. The vibrational frequencies, calculated by these methods, are compared to each other. The results indicate that B3LYP method is more reliable than RHF and MP2 methods for the frequencies calculations for these compounds. With this method, some vibrational frequencies of M2X6(2+)(M=Ti(IV), Zr(IV) and Hf(II); X=F, Cl, Br and I) are also predicted.

Ab initio and density functional theory studies on vibrational spectra of palladium (II) and platinum (II) complexes of methionine and histidine: effect of theoretical methods and basis sets

The vibrational spectra of methionine and histidine-containing palladium (II) and platinum (II) complexes, cis-M(Met)X2 and cis-M(His)X2 (M = Pd and Pt; X = F, Cl, Br and I; Met = methionine, His = histidine), have been systematically investigated by ab initio Restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) and density functional B3LYP methods with LanL2DZ and SDD basis sets. The geometries of cis-Pd(Met)Cl2, cis-Pt(Met)Cl2, cis-Pd(His)Cl2 and cis-Pt(His)I2 optimized and vibrational frequencies and IR intensities of cis-M(Met)Cl2 and cis-M(His)Cl2 (M = Pd and Pt) calculated are evaluated via comparison with the experimental values. The vibrational frequencies calculated show that the methods, rather than basis sets, affect the accuracy of the calculation. The best results that can reproduce the experimental ones are obtained at B3LYP level without any scale factor used. The vibrational frequencies of cis-M(Met)X2 and cis-M(His)X2 (M = Pd and Pt; X = F, Br and I) that have not yet been experimentally reported are predicted.

Improved model core potentials for the second- and third-row transition metals

New nonrelativistic and scalar-relativistic pseudopotentials for the second- and third-row transition metals have been developed. These improved Model Core Potentials were used in calculations for a variety of transition metal complexes to test their ability to reproduce experimental structures and vibrational frequencies.

Theoretical studies on vibrational spectra of mixed cyanide-halide complexes of platinum(IV) and palladium(IV)

The vibrational spectra of mixed cyanide-halide complexes, M(CN)4X 2 2- and M(CN)5X2- (M=Pt and Pd; X=F, Cl, Br and I), have been systematically investigated by ab initio RHF, B3LYP and MP2 methods with LanL2DZ and SDD basis sets. The calculated vibrational frequencies of platinum complexes are evaluated via comparison with the experimental values. In the infrared frequency region, the C--N stretching vibrational frequencies calculated at B3LYP level with two basis sets are in good agreement with the observed values with deviations, -16-4 cm(-1) for Pt(CN)4X 2 2- and -18 to -2 cm(-1) for Pt(CN)5X2-. However, in far-infrared region, the results obtained at RHF level are better than those calculated at B3LYP and MP2 levels. For RHF/SDD method, the deviations for Ptz.sbnd;X and Ptz.sbnd;C stretching vibrational frequencies are -14-1 and -12 to -2 cm(-1) in the complex Pt(CN)4X2 2-, -19 to -11 and -15-14 cm(-1) in the Pt(CN)5X2- complex, respectively. The vibrational frequencies of palladium(IV) and some platinum(IV) complexes that have not been experimentally reported are predicted.

Infrared spectra of cis- and trans-peroxynitrite anion, OONO-, in solid argon

The peroxynitrite anion, of vast importance in biochemistry, is formed in vivo from the reaction of NO and O(-2). Laser ablation of 10 different metal targets with concurrent 7 K codeposition of NO/Ar and O(2)/Ar mixtures gives new metal-independent infrared bands at 1458.3 and 806.1 cm(-)(1), and at 1433.3 and 983.2 cm(-1), in addition to known O(-4) and (NO)(-2) absorptions. The new bands are not observed with CCl(4) added to capture electrons or in O(2) and NO experiments without laser ablation to produce electrons, which identifies new product anions. Based on (15)NO and (18)O(2) isotopic shifts, splitting patterns in mixed isotopic experiments, and comparison with DFT isotopic frequency calculations, the former absorptions are assigned to cis-OONO-, and the latter pair to trans-OONO-, which are isolated from metal cations trapped elsewhere in the matrix. The cis- and trans-peroxynitrite anion isomers are probably formed via the ion-molecule reaction between O(-2)and NO: the O(-2) anion, made by the capture of ablated electrons, is attested by the observation of O(-4). cis- and trans-OONO- are reversibly photoisomerized by visible and near-UV radiation. Collisional stabilization of the OONO- ion-molecule dimer complex during formation of the solid argon matrix appears to be crucial.

Structure and electron affinity of platinum fluorides

The structure, stability, and electron affinity of the even numbered molecular platinum fluorides PtF(2)(n) (n = 1-4) were studied by scalar relativistic density functional and coupled cluster methods. The di, tetra, and hexafluorides possess triplet ground states, while PtF(8) is a singlet. Formation of the latter from PtF(6) and F(2) is found to be endothermic. Differences between adiabiatic and vertical electron affinities are only significant for PtF(2).

Platinum dioxide cation: easy to generate experimentally but difficult to describe theoretically

A formal platinum(V) dioxide cation [Pt,O2](+) can be generated in the gas phase by successive oxidation of Pt(+) with N2O. The ion's reactivity is in keeping with the dioxide structure OPtO(+), rather than with [Pt,O2](+) isomers having intact O-O bonds, e.g., the dioxygen complex Pt(O2)(+) and peroxo species PtOO(+). Inter alia due to the high ionization energy of the neutral counterpart (11.2 eV), the [Pt,O2](+) cation is a rather aggressive reagent toward oxidizable neutrals. [Pt,O2](+) is even capable of activating inert substrates such as H2, CO, and CH4. Further, a sequence for the catalytic conversion CO + N(2)O --> CO2 + N2 is described with a turnover number of >100 for the catalytically active species PtOn(+) (n = 0-2). As a consequence of the high reactivity, however, the observed selectivities with most substrates are rather poor. For example, the reaction of PtO2(+) with ethane gives rise to 10 different product channels. In an attempt to analyze the structural features and different minima of the [Pt,O2](+) system, extensive ab initio studies are performed. While correlated ab initio methods describe the system reasonably well, density functional theory turns out to be much less accurate in terms of both structural and energetic descriptions.