Carrie A. Farberow

Water-mediated proton hopping on an iron oxide surface

Water-Assisted Proton Diffusion Proton diffusion on metal oxide surfaces can play an important role in many catalytic processes. The presence of water is thought to accelerate proton diffusion. Merte et al. (p. 889) used high-speed, high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy to study proton diffusion on an iron oxide. On oxygen-terminated FeO monolayer films formed on Pt, molecular water accelerated proton diffusion. Density function theory calculations implicated a H3O+ transition state in the diffusion process. The presence of adsorbed water enhances proton diffusion, likely through a hydronium ion transition state. The diffusion of hydrogen atoms across solid oxide surfaces is often assumed to be accelerated by the presence of water molecules. Here we present a high-resolution, high-speed scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study of the diffusion of H atoms on an FeO thin film. STM movies directly reveal a water-mediated hydrogen diffusion mechanism on the oxide surface at temperatures between 100 and 300 kelvin. Density functional theory calculations and isotope-exchange experiments confirm the STM observations, and a proton-transfer mechanism that proceeds via an H3O+-like transition state is revealed. This mechanism differs from that observed previously for rutile TiO2(110), where water dissociation is a key step in proton diffusion.

Stabilization of Copper Catalysts for Liquid‐Phase Reactions by Atomic Layer Deposition

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of an alumina overcoat can stabilize a base metal catalyst (e.g., copper) for liquid-phase catalytic reactions (e.g., hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural in alcoholic solvents or water), thereby eliminating the deactivation of conventional catalysts by sintering and leaching. This method of catalyst stabilization alleviates the need to employ precious metals (e.g., platinum) in liquid-phase catalytic processing. The alumina overcoat initially covers the catalyst surface completely. By using solid state NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy, it was shown that high temperature treatment opens porosity in the overcoat by forming crystallites of γ-Al2 O3 . Infrared spectroscopic measurements and scanning tunneling microscopy studies of trimethylaluminum ALD on copper show that the remarkable stability imparted to the nanoparticles arises from selective armoring of under-coordinated copper atoms on the nanoparticle surface.

Mixed-Metal Pt Monolayer Electrocatalysts with Improved CO Tolerance

Using a combination of periodic, self-consistent, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and CO-stripping voltammetry experiments, we have designed a new class of Pt-M bimetallic monolayer catalysts supported on a non-Pt metal, which exhibit improved stability against CO poisoning and might be suitable for proton-exchange membrane fuel cell anodes. These surfaces help in reducing the overpotential associated with anodic CO oxidation and minimize the amount of Pt used, thereby reducing materials cost. DFT calculations predict highly repulsive interactions between adsorbed CO molecules on these surfaces, leading to weaker binding and lower coverage of CO than on pure Pt, which in turn facilitates oxidative removal of CO from these catalytic surfaces.

Water clustering on nanostructured iron oxide films

The adhesion of water to solid surfaces is characterized by the tendency to balance competing molecule-molecule and molecule-surface interactions. Hydroxyl groups form strong hydrogen bonds to water molecules and are known to substantially influence the wetting behaviour of oxide surfaces, but it is not well-understood how these hydroxyl groups and their distribution on a surface affect the molecular-scale structure at the interface. Here we report a study of water clustering on a moiré-structured iron oxide thin film with a controlled density of hydroxyl groups. While large amorphous monolayer islands form on the bare film, the hydroxylated iron oxide film acts as a hydrophilic nanotemplate, causing the formation of a regular array of ice-like hexameric nanoclusters. The formation of this ordered phase is localized at the nanometre scale; with increasing water coverage, ordered and amorphous water are found to coexist at adjacent hydroxylated and hydroxyl-free domains of the moiré structure.

Transitioning rationally designed catalytic materials to real “working” catalysts produced at commercial scale: nanoparticle materials

Catalyst design, from idea to commercialization, requires multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering research and development over 10–20 year time periods. Historically, the identification of new or improved catalyst materials has largely been an empirical trial-and-error process. However, advances in computational capabilities (new tools and increased processing power) coupled with new synthetic techniques have started to yield rationally-designed catalysts with controlled nano-structures and tailored properties. This technological advancement represents an opportunity to accelerate the catalyst development timeline and to deliver new materials that outperform existing industrial catalysts or enable new applications, once a number of unique challenges associated with the scale-up of nano-structured materials are overcome.

Temperature-programmed Deoxygenation of Acetic Acid on Molybdenum Carbide Catalysts

Temperature programmed reaction (TPRxn) is a simple yet powerful tool for screening solid catalyst performance at a variety of conditions. A TPRxn system includes a reactor, furnace, gas and vapor sources, flow control, instrumentation to quantify reaction products (e.g., gas chromatograph), and instrumentation to monitor the reaction in real time (e.g., mass spectrometer). Here, we apply the TPRxn methodology to study molybdenum carbide catalysts for the deoxygenation of acetic acid, an important reaction among many in the upgrading/stabilization of biomass pyrolysis vapors. TPRxn is used to evaluate catalyst activity and selectivity and to test hypothetical reaction pathways (e.g., decarbonylation, ketonization, and hydrogenation). The results of the TPRxn study of acetic acid deoxygenation show that molybdenum carbide is an active catalyst for this reaction at temperatures above ca. 300 °C and that the reaction favors deoxygenation (i.e., C-O bond-breaking) products at temperatures below ca. 400 °C and decarbonylation (i.e., C-C bond-breaking) products at temperatures above ca. 400 °C.