Structure and energy of Mo27SxCy clusters: a density functional theory study

For understanding the carburization processes of MoSx catalysts, the structures and energies of Mo27SxCy cluster models have been computed at the level of density functional theory. The surface sulfur atoms on the Mo edge and S edge as well as bulky sulfur atoms have been replaced by atomic carbon, and the corresponding structures have S/C ratios in the range of 0.8-55. The formation of all Mo27SxCy structures is favored thermodynamically. It is also found that the formation of CS and C2 bridging units is more favored than the individual or separated replacements and that the formation of C2 bridging units is more favored than that of CS units. In contrast, the replacement of sulfur on the Mo edge is least favored. Furthermore, the replacement of the bulky sulfur on the Mo edge is equally favored as those of sulfur on the S edge. For aiding further experimental studies, the C=S and C=C stretching frequencies have been computed.