Stable mass-selected AuTiOx nanoparticles for CO oxidation.

Stability under reactive conditions poses a common challenge for cluster- and nanoparticle-based catalysts. Since the catalytic properties of <5 nm gold nanoparticles were first uncovered, optimizing their stability at elevated temperatures for CO oxidation has been a central theme. Here we report direct observations of improved stability of AuTiOx alloy nanoparticles for CO oxidation compared with pure Au nanoparticles on TiO2. The nanoparticles were synthesized using a magnetron sputtering, gas-phase aggregation cluster source, size-selected using a lateral time-of-flight mass filter and deposited onto TiO2-coated micro-reactors for thermocatalytic activity measurements of CO oxidation. The AuTiOx nanoparticles exhibited improved stability at elevated temperatures, which is attributed to a self-anchoring interaction with the TiO2 substrate. The structure of the AuTiOx nanoparticles was also investigated in detail using ion scattering spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The measurements showed that the alloyed nanoparticles exhibited a core-shell structure with an Au core surrounded by an AuTiOx shell. The structure of these alloy nanoparticles appeared stable even at temperatures up to 320 °C under reactive conditions, for more than 140 hours. The work presented confirms the possibility of tuning catalytic activity and stability via nanoparticle alloying and self-anchoring on TiO2 substrates, and highlights the importance of complementary characterization techniques to investigate and optimize nanoparticle catalyst designs of this nature.

How covalence breaks adsorption-energy scaling relations and solvation restores them.

It is known that breaking the scaling relations between the adsorption energies of *O, *OH, and *OOH is paramount in catalyzing more efficiently the reduction of O2 in fuel cells and its evolution in electrolyzers. Taking metalloporphyrins as a case study, we evaluate here the adsorption energies of those adsorbates on the metal centers Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu, using H, F, OH, NH2, CH3, and BH2 as ring ligands. We show that covalence systematically breaks scaling relations under vacuum by strengthening certain M-OOH bonds. However, covalence modifies adsorbate solvation in solution depending on the degree of covalence of the metal-adsorbate bonds. The two effects have similar magnitudes and opposite signs, such that scaling relations are restored in solution. Thus, solvation is a crucial ingredient that must be taken into account in studies aimed at breaking scaling relations in solution. Our findings suggest that the choice of metal and ligand determines the catalytic activity within the limits imposed by scaling relations, whereas the choice of an appropriate solvent can drive such activity beyond those limits.