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Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
Published on: January 9, 2014
First-principles study of molecular hydrogen dissociation on doped Al12X (X = B, Al, C, Si, P, Mg, and Ca) clusters
Lu Wang1, Jijun Zhao, Zhen Zhou
1Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Electron, and Ion Beams, School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology and College of Advanced Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
Abstract:
Inspired by the concept of superatom via substitutionally doping an Al13 magic cluster, we investigated the H2 molecule dissociation on the doped icosahedral Al12X (X = B, Al, C, Si, P, Mg, and Ca) clusters by means of density functional theory. The computed reaction energies and activation barriers show that the concept of superatom is still valid for the catalysis behavior of doped metal clusters. The hydrogen dissociation behavior on metal clusters characterized by the activation barrier and reaction energy can be tuned by controllable doping. Thus, doped Al12X clusters might serve as highly efficient and low-cost catalysts for hydrogen dissociation.
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