Mausumi Mahapatra

Enhanced hydrogenation activity and diastereomeric interactions of methyl pyruvate co-adsorbed with R -1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine on Pd(111)

Unmodified racemic sites on heterogeneous chiral catalysts reduce their overall enantioselectivity, but this effect is mitigated in the Orito reaction (methyl pyruvate (MP) hydrogenation to methyl lactate) by an increased hydrogenation reactivity. Here, this effect is explored on a R-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine (NEA)-modified Pd(111) model catalyst where temperature-programmed desorption experiments reveal that NEA accelerates the rates of both MP hydrogenation and H/D exchange. NEA+MP docking complexes are imaged using scanning tunnelling microscopy supplemented by density functional theory calculations to allow the most stable docking complexes to be identified. The results show that diastereomeric interactions between NEA and MP occur predominantly by binding of the C=C of the enol tautomer of MP to the surface, while simultaneously optimizing C=O····H2N hydrogen-bonding interactions. The combination of chiral-NEA driven diastereomeric docking with a tautomeric preference enhances the hydrogenation activity since C=C bonds hydrogenate more easily than C=O bonds thus providing a rationale for the catalytic observations.

Adsorption and reaction pathways of a chiral probe molecule, S-glycidol on a Pd(111) surface

The chemistry of S-glycidol is studied on a Pd(111) surface using temperature-programmed desorption and reflection–absorption infrared spectroscopy to explore its suitability as a chiral probe molecule and to follow its reaction pathway. It is found that the majority of the S-glycidol desorbs intact with less than ~8% decomposing. Decomposition is initiated by forming an S-glycidate intermediate below ~200 K and this further reacts via C–O scission of the epoxy ring. This reaction is controlled by the stability of the carbocation intermediate to preferentially form an ethoxy aldehyde intermediate that thermally decomposes to desorb carbon monoxide, hydrogen and ethanol.

Hydrogenation of CO2 on ZnO/Cu(100) and ZnO/Cu(111) Catalysts: Role of Copper Structure and Metal–Oxide Interface in Methanol Synthesis

The results of kinetic tests and ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) show the important role played by a ZnO-copper interface in the generation of CO and the synthesis of methanol from CO2 hydrogenation. The deposition of nanoparticles of ZnO on Cu(100) and Cu(111), θoxi < 0.3 monolayer, produces highly active catalysts. The catalytic activity of these systems increases in the sequence: Cu(111) < Cu(100) < ZnO/Cu(111) < ZnO/Cu(100). The structure of the copper substrate influences the catalytic performance of a ZnO-copper interface. Furthermore, size and metal-oxide interactions affect the chemical and catalytic properties of the oxide making the supported nanoparticles different from bulk ZnO. The formation of a ZnO-copper interface favors the binding and conversion of CO2 into a formate intermediate that is stable on the catalyst surface up to temperatures above 500 K. Alloys of Zn with Cu(111) and Cu(100) were not stable at the elevated temperatures (500-600 K) used for the CO2 hydrogenation reaction. Reaction with CO2 oxidized the zinc, enhancing its stability over the copper substrates.

Adsorption and Structure of Chiral Epoxides on Pd(111): Propylene Oxide and Glycidol

The adsorption of enantiopure versus racemic propylene oxide (PO) on Pd(111) is studied by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) to explore possible differences in their saturation coverage. It is found that that the saturation coverage of enantiopure PO on Pd(111) is identical to that of racemic PO, in contrast to results on Pt(111) where significant coverage differences were found. The surface structures of enantiopure PO on Pd(111) were characterized by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), which shows the formation of linear chains and hexagonal structures proposed to be due to freely rotating PO, in contrast to the relatively disordered PO overlayers found on Pt(111). STM experiments were carried out for enantiopure glycidol, which contains the same epoxy ring as PO, but where the methyl group of propylene oxide is replaced by a −CH2OH group to provide a hydrogen-bonding sites. Glycidol STM images show the formation of completely different surface structures; at low coverages, glycidol forms pseudoh...

An Infrared Spectroscopic and Temperature-programmed Desorption Study of 1,1-Difluoroethylene on Clean and Hydrogen-covered Pd(111)

The surface chemistry of 1,1-difluoroethylene was studied on clean and hydrogen-covered Pd(111) using a combination of temperature-programmed desorption and reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) to explore whether the larger infrared absorbance of 1,1-difluoroethylene than ethylene may be used to examine reactions under realistic catalytic conditions using RAIRS. It was found that the chemistry of 1,1-difluoroethylene on Pd(111) surfaces is similar to that of ethylene with bonding occurring in both the π- and di-σ-forms. However, due to the presence of C–F bonds in the molecule, the infrared absorbances for 1,1-difluoroethylene were much larger than those for ethylene. This provides the potential for using RAIRS for in situ studies of catalytic reactions that involve alkenes.