Regensburg 2022 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 10: Focus Session: Single Atom Catalysis 2

O 10.7: Topical Talk

Monday, September 5, 2022, 17:00–17:30, H4

Model catalysis of single atoms on ultrathin solid films — •Kai Wu — College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Metal atoms at surfaces play a key role in catalysis and related disciplines. A new strategy is introduced to prepare ultrathin films like oxides on surfaces which are further utilized to prepare stablized metal atoms. Since the surface free energy of a bulk oxide is much lower than the chemical potential or free energy of the metal atoms, one can play the game by reducing the thickness of the oxide film, even down to one atomic monolayer, which is grown on a bulk metal substrate. In such a way, the chemical potential of the oxide thin film can be tweaked by the underlying bulk metal substrate. Once the chemical potential or free energy of the ultrthin oxide support is tuned to such an extent that it becomes comparable with those of the metal atoms, can one then stablize these metal atoms without additional measures. Such an approach may be termed as surface free energy strategy to prepare uncoordinated metal atoms at surfaces. Scince the metal atoms are truly unprotected and therefore their physicochemical properties could be intrinsic, in sharp contract to those of coordinated metal atoms prepared by surface coordination and crystal engineering strategies. In this presentation, several systems of the unprotected metal atoms including alkali and transition metal atoms on ultrathin films such as metallic oxides and carbides grown on bulk metal substrates are employed to explore surface catalysis.