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Updated: May 17, 2026

Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
Theoretical investigations on decomposition of HCOOH catalyzed by Pd7 cluster
Song Ju Li1, Xin Zhou, Wei Quan Tian
1State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Density functional theory based calculations have been performed to investigate decomposition of HCOOH on a Pd(7) cluster in vacuum and solution. The adsorption of HCOOH on Pd(7) cluster occurs on a layer-by-layer quasi-planar conformation of Pd(7) with 4 atoms on top and 3 atoms below. Possible reaction pathways for the decomposition of HCOOH adsorbed on Pd(7) cluster in vacuum and solution are located and compared in terms of the reaction enengies and barriers. Formic acid prefers to decompose through dehydrogenation rather than dehydrate under the significant effect of solvent. The toxic species, CO generated on Pt surface, could not possibly appear in the catalytic decomposition of formic acid on Pd(7) cluster due to high reaction barrier, thus no poisoning of catalyst would occur on Pd surface. The Pd(7) cluster model rationalizes experimental observation, and the predictions are in good agreement with the ones based on the surface model.
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