Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 18, 2026
Synthesis and Testing of Supported Pt-Cu Solid Solution Nanoparticle Catalysts for Propane Dehydrogenation
Published on: July 18, 2017
Engineering Catalytic Efficiency by Thiolate-Protected Trimetallic (Cu, Pd, Au) Nanoclusters: Single-Atom Alloy
Stephan Pollitt1, Thomas Haunold1, Sakiat Hossain2
1Institute of Materials Chemistry, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/BC, 1060 Vienna, Austria.
Abstract:
The "crude oil exodus" and energy transition will finally hinge on the availability of hydrogen. Catalytic processes like the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction may significantly contribute to its production and become crucial for utilizing alternative feedstocks. This work demonstrates how thiolate-protected gold nanoclusters can be employed as precursors for single-atom alloy (SAA) catalysts. The clusters serve as carriers of heteroatom dopants (Cu, Pd) while precisely maintaining 25 metal atoms per cluster (<1 nm). Using the 2PET ligand during synthesis led to high yield and cluster stability, but ligand exchange was required to link clusters to a ZnO support efficiently. Introducing pMBA as a ligand enabled a homogeneous cluster distribution on the ZnO surface, creating a well-defined catalyst with dual functionality. This SAA catalyst, outperforming a Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 benchmark in WGS, may get industrial relevance when upscaled while still serving as a well-defined model system in catalysis. Thereby, it bridges the gap between practical applications and fundamental research. Pre- and postreaction analysis by XPS proved the presence of the dopants in the catalysts in the expected stoichiometry, showed changes in the electronic structures, but also revealed sulfur migration from the clusters/ligands to the support, forming ZnS. Furthermore, XPS unveiled a pretreatment-induced SMSI decoration effect, stabilizing the small particles during catalysis. (S)-TEM indicated a homogeneous cluster distribution on ZnO after synthesis and proved small particle sizes throughout the experiments. In situ DRIFTS confirmed the accessibility of the dopant atoms by the reactant CO and also detected adsorbed byproducts. The precise size and doping control of thiolate-protected SAA nanoclusters, together with their catalytic performance, demonstrate the potential for targeted future investigations in a wide range of industrial applications.
More Related Videos
10:52Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
11:02Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Gold Intercalated in the Walls of Mesoporous Silica
Published on: July 9, 2015
Related Concept Videos
02:50Catalysis
02:17Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
02:13Reduction of Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the...
02:24Reduction of Alkynes to cis-Alkenes: Catalytic Hydrogenation
Like alkenes, alkynes can be reduced to alkanes in the presence of transition metal catalysts such as Pt, Pd, or Ni. The reaction involves two sequential syn additions of hydrogen via a cis-alkene intermediate.