Ion-molecule reactions catalyzed by a single gold atom

We report that Au atoms within van der Waals complexes serve as catalysts for the first time. This was observed in ionization-induced chemistry of 1,6-hexanediol–Au and 1,8-octanediol–Au complexes formed in superfluid helium nanodroplets, where the addition of Au atom(s) made C₂H₄⁺ the sole prominent product in dissociative reactions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that the Au atom significantly strengthens all of the C–C bonds and weakens the C–O bonds in the meantime, making the C–C bonds stronger than the two C–O bonds in the ionized complexes. This leads to a preferential cleavage of the C–O bonds and thus a strong catalytic effect of the Au atoms in the reactions.

Single Au atoms within van der Waals complexes are found to serve as catalysts in ionisation-induced chemistry for the first time.     

First‐principle calculations on CO oxidation catalyzed by a gold nanoparticle

We have elucidated the mechanism of CO oxidation catalyzed by gold nanoparticles through first‐principle density‐functional theory (DFT) calculations. Calculations on selected model show that the low‐coordinated Au atoms of the Au₂₉ nanoparticle carry slightly negative charges, which enhance the O₂ binding energy compared with the corresponding bulk surfaces. Two reaction pathways of the CO oxidation were considered: the Eley–Rideal (ER) and Langmuir–Hinshelwood (LH). The overall LH reaction O_2(ads) + CO_(gas) → O_2(ads) + CO_(ads) → OOCO_(ads) → O_(ads) + CO_2(gas) is calculated to be exothermic by 3.72 eV; the potential energies of the two transition states ( TS_LH1 and TS_LH2 ) are smaller than the reactants, indicating that no net activation energy is required for this process. The CO oxidation via ER reaction Au₂₉ + O_2(gas) + CO_(gas) → Au₂₉–O_2(ads) + CO_(gas) → Au₂₉–CO_3(ads) → Au₂₉–O_(ads) + CO_2(gas) requires an overall activation barrier of 0.19 eV, and the formation of Au₂₉–CO_3(ads) intermediate possesses high exothermicity of 4.33 eV, indicating that this process may compete with the LH mechanism. Thereafter, a second CO molecule can react with the remaining O atom via the ER mechanism with a very small barrier (0.03 eV). Our calculations suggest that the CO oxidation catalyzed by the Au₂₉ nanoparticle is likely to occur at or even below room temperature. To gain insights into high‐catalytic activity of the gold nanoparticles, the interaction nature between adsorbate and substrate is also analyzed by the detailed electronic analysis. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Carbon-based single atom catalyst: Synthesis,characterization, DFT calculations

Carbon-based single-atom catalysts(SACs) with atomic sizes of active sites have become the promising candidates for a variety of catalytic systems because of their high atom utilization, and unique electronic structures. Different types of single-atom sites can be fabricated via multiple preparation strategies, which would demonstrate distinct different coordination configurations and electronic features, and ultimately affected the structure-catalysis relationship of SACs in targeted reactions....     

纳米金催化一氧化碳氧化反应的理论研究

近年来,纳米金催化剂独特的催化性质,特别是其优异的低温催化氧化活性,引起了人们极大的研究热情.除低温选择氧化外,在精细化学品合成、大气污染物消除、氢能的转换和利用等领域也开发出了一系列有广泛应用前景的金催化反应.此外,体相金的化学惰性和纳米金的超高活性之间差异的“鸿沟”也引起了理论工作者浓厚兴趣,试图从原理上理解体相金和纳米金活性差异的根源. CO催化氧化是最具有代表性的研究金催化活性的化学反应,本文主要综述了近十多年来金催化 CO氧化反应理论计算方面的研究工作.一般认为, CO在纳米金表面的吸附是 CO氧化反应的初始步骤.密度泛函理论研究表明, CO在金表面的吸附强度主要与被吸附金原子的配位数有关：金配位数越低, CO的吸附能越强,部分研究结果表明两者之间存在近似的线性关系.我们研究发现, CO吸附强度也与被吸附金周围配位金原子的相对位置有关,其中位于正下方的配位金原子加强 CO吸附,而位于侧位的配位金原子则弱化 CO吸附,这显然削弱了 CO吸附与金配位数线性关系的可靠性.理论研究表明,在纯金表
　　面上 O2吸附强度一般很弱,只有在一些特殊结构的金团簇上才有较强的吸附,但在 Au/TiO2界面及 CeO2表面上 O2吸附较强.金表面原子氧的吸附和金的表面结构有关.我们发现,原子氧倾向于在金的表面形成一种线性的 O–Au–O结构以增加其稳定性.当金表面的氧覆盖度增大时,会形成一种金氧化物薄膜结构,其结构依赖于氧的化学势和金的表面结构.纳米金催化 CO氧化反应机理可能因体系、载体等的差异而不同.大部分理论计算结果表明,在纯金表面上 O2很难直接解离形成原子氧,因此反应机理可能是吸附的 CO先与 O2反应形成了一种 CO–O2中间体,然后解离形成 CO2.在 Au/TiO2和 Au/CeO2催化剂上 CO催化氧化机理争议很大,均有计算结果支持 LH机理和 M–vK机理.另外,根据实验上观察到了负载型纳米金能直接活化分子氧的结果,理论上也提出了分子氧先解离为原子氧再与 CO反应的氧解离机理.针对如何解离分子氧问题,人们分别提出了低配位金模型、正方形金结构模型、Ti5c模型及 Au/Ti5c模型等.我们也提出了一种独特的双直线 O–Au–O模型来理解 Au/TiO2或 Au/CeO2界面解离活化分子氧.理论计算结果表明,低配位的金,金和载体之间的电荷转移,以及金所表现出的强相对论效应对于纳米金的活性影响很大.需要特别指出的是,金的强相对论效应有助于理解金表面的 CO吸附与金配位的关系、金表面原子氧的吸附特性、金氧化物薄膜的结构和分子氧的活化等过程.我们认为,金的强相对论作用导致了体相金的化学惰性以及纳米金的活性,因此相对论效应的深入研究将有助于理解金催化 CO氧化反应机理,从而有助于深层次理解纳米金催化活性来源.     

A DFT study on the possibility of using a single Cu atom incorporated nitrogen-doped graphene as a promising and highly active catalyst for oxidation of CO

Using dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) calculations, a single Cu adatom incorporated nitrogen-doped graphene (CuN₃-Gr) is proposed as a new and highly active noble-metal-free catalyst for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation reaction. According to our results, the Cu adatom can be stably anchored onto the monovavancy site of the nitrogen-doped graphene, and the resulting large diffusion barrier suggests that the metal clustering is avoided in CuN₃-Gr. Three possible reaction mechanisms for CO oxidation (ie, Eley–Rideal, Langmuir–Hinshelwood, and termolecular Eley–Rideal) are systematically studied. It is found that the activation energy for the rate-determining step of the termolecular Eley–Rideal mechanism is only 0.13 eV, which is much smaller than those of others. The results of this study may provide a useful guideline for the design of highly active and promising single-metal catalysts for the CO oxidation reaction based on graphene.     

Catalytic CO oxidation by a gold nanoparticle: a density functional study

Gold is usually considered very noble. It does not oxidize, and the surface of gold cannot adsorb most molecules from the gas phase. Yet it has been found that nanometer size gold particles on different oxide supports can act as catalysts even at or below room temperature. We present self-consistent density functional calculations showing that even an isolated Au10 cluster should be able to catalyze the CO oxidation reaction even below room temperature. We use the calculations to analyze the origin of this effect and suggest that the extraordinary reactivity can be traced back to special reaction geometries available at small particles in combination with an enhanced ability of low coordinated gold atoms to interact with molecules from the surroundings.     

Matrix isolation and DFT calculations of the TMM radical cation generated via the single electron oxidation of a methylenecyclopropane

A γ-irradiation of 2,2-diphenyl-1-methylenecyclopropane (3) in a degassed n-butyl chloride glassy matrix at 77 K produced an intense UV/vis absorption band with λ_ab at 432 nm. This result and calculations based on density functional theory for its radical cation 3⁺ and the corresponding trimethylenemethane radical cation (2⁺) strongly suggest that a single electron oxidation of 3 followed by ready ring opening affords 2⁺, whose molecular geometry is largely twisted (θ = 44.0°), and the positive charge and spin are localized mainly in the diphenyl methyl and allyl moieties, respectively.     

Catalysis by supported gold: correlation between catalytic activity for CO oxidation and oxidation states of gold

X-ray absorption near-edge spectra and temperature-programmed oxidation and reduction data demonstrate that Au(I) and Au(0) are both present in working MgO-supported gold catalysts for CO oxidation. EXAFS data indicate gold clusters with essentially the same average diameter (about 30 A) in each catalyst sample. Thus, the results provide no evidence of an effect of gold cluster size on the catalytic activity, but both the catalytic activity and the surface concentration of Au(I) were found to decrease with increasing CO partial pressure (as Au(0) was increasingly formed), demonstrating that the catalytic sites incorporate Au(I).     

DFT calculations on the catalytic oxidation of CO over Si-doped (6,0) boron nitride nanotubes

The oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) is important for a series of technological and environmental applications. In this work, the catalytic oxidation of CO on Si-doped (6,0) boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) is investigated by using density functional theory calculations. Reaction barriers and corresponding thermodynamic parameters were calculated using the M06-2X, B3LYP and wB97XD density functionals with 6-31G* basis set. Our results indicate that a vacancy defect in BNNT strongly stabilizes the Si adatom and makes it more positively charged. This charging enhances the adsorption of reaction gases (O₂ and CO) and results in the change of the electronic structure properties of the tube. The calculated barrier of the reaction CO + O₂ → CO₂ + O_ads on Si-doped BNNTs following the Langmuir–Hinshelwood is lower than that on the traditional noble metal catalysts. The second step of the oxidation would be the Eley–Rideal reaction (CO + O_ads → CO₂) with an energy barrier of about 1.8 and 10.1 kcal/mol at M06-2X/6-31G* level. This suggests that the CO oxidation catalyzed by the Si-doped BNNTs is likely to occur at the room temperature. The results also demonstrate that the activation energies and thermodynamic quantities calculated by M06-2X, B3LYP and wB97XD functionals are consistent with each other.     

Heterogeneous oxidation of cyclohexanone catalyzed by TS-1:Combined experimental and DFT studies

The reaction mechanism of the oxidation of cyclohexanone catalyzed by titanium silicate zeolite TS-1 using aqueous H2O2 as the oxidant was investigated by combining density function theory (DFT) calculations with experimental studies. DFT calculations showed that H2O2 was adsorbed and activated at the tetrahedral Ti sites. By taking into account the adsorption energy, molecular size, steric hindrance and structural information, a reaction mechanism of Baeyer-Villiger oxidation catalyzed by TS-1 that involves the activation of H2O2 was proposed. Experimental studies showed that the major products of cyclohexanone oxidation by H2O2 catalyzed by a hollow TS-1 zeolite wereε-carprolactone, 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid, and adipic acid. These products were analyzed by GC-MS and were in good agreement with the proposed mechanism. Our studies showed that the reaction mechanism on TS-1 zeolite was different from that on Sn-beta zeolite.     

CO oxidation catalyzed by silver nanoclusters: mechanism and effects of charge

The mechanism of the CO oxidation promoted by a neutral Ag(55) cluster was investigated extensively, using density functional theory calculations. The CO oxidation process catalyzed by anionic and cationic Ag(55) clusters was also studied, to clarify the effects of the charge state. The Eley-Rideal (ER) and Langmuir-Hinshelwood (LH) mechanisms were discussed in detail. Six reaction pathways were found for the Ag(55)-mediated CO oxidation. It was found that the ER mechanism competed with the LH mechanism. The rate-limiting step of the CO oxidation was the reaction of CO with the Ag(55)O species. All of the anionic, neutral, and cationic Ag(55) clusters were able to promote CO oxidation at low temperatures. The present results enrich our understanding of the catalytic oxidation of CO by nano-sized Ag-based catalysts.     

DFT characterization of key intermediates in thiols oxidation catalyzed by amavadin

Amavadin is an unusual octa-coordinated V(IV) complex isolated from Amanita muscaria mushrooms. The outer-sphere catalytic properties of such a complex toward several oxidation reactions are well known. Nevertheless, a remarkable example exists, in which the V(V) (d(0)) oxidized form of amavadin is able to electro-catalyze the oxidation of some thiols to the corresponding disulfides through an inner-sphere mechanism (Guedes da Silva et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc.1996, 118, 7568-7573.) The reaction mechanism implies the formation of an amavadin-substrate intermediate, whose half-life is about 0.3 s. By means of Density Functional Theory (DFT) computations and Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) analysis of the electron density, we have first characterized the stereoelectronic features of the V(IV) (inactive) and V(V) (active) states of amavadin. Then, the formation of the V(V) complex with methyl mercaptoacetate (MMA), which has been chosen as a prototypical substrate, has been characterized both thermodynamically and kinetically. DFT results reveal that protonation of V(V) amavadin at a carboxylate oxygen not directly involved in the V coordination, favors MMA binding into the first coordination sphere of vanadium, by substitution of the amavadin carboxylate oxygen with that of the substrate and formation of an S-HO hydrogen bond interaction. The latter interaction can promote SH deprotonation and binding of the thiolate group to vanadium. The kinetic and thermodynamic feasibility of the V(V)-MMA intermediates formation is in agreement, along with electrochemical experimental data, also with the biological role exerted by amavadin. Finally, the presence of an ester functional group as an essential requisite for MMA oxidation has been rationalized.     

Aerobic oxidation of alcohol in aqueous solution catalyzed by gold

The heterogeneous oxidation catalyzed by supported gold nanoparticles has been relatively well studied. In comparison, the oxidation of alcohols catalyzed by ligand-supported gold complexes was rarely reported. Herein a general method is demonstrated to oxidize secondary and primary benzyl and allylic alcohols to carbonyl compounds via Au(I) catalyzed reaction in air and water. Primary mechanistic studies indicated that the catalytic pathway is different from those catalyzed by solid-supported gold nanoparticles.     

Theoretical study on the reaction mechanism of NO and CO catalyzed by Rh atom

The gas-phase reaction mechanism of NO and CO catalyzed by Rh atom has been systematically investigated on the ground and first excited states at CCSD(T)//B3LYP/6-311+G(2d), SDD level. This reaction is mainly divided into two reaction stages, NO deoxygenation to generate N₂O and then the deoxygenation of N₂O with CO to form N₂ and CO₂. The crucial reaction step deals with the NO deoxygenation to generate N₂O catalyzed by Rh atom, in which the self-deoxygenation of NO reaction pathway is kinetically more preferable than that in the presence of CO. The minimal energy reaction pathway includes the rate-determining step about N–N bond formation. Once the NO deoxygenation with CO catalyzed by rhodium atom takes place, the reaction results in the intermediate RhN. Then, the reaction of RhN with CO is kinetically more favorable than that with NO, while both of them are thermodynamically preferable. These results can qualitatively explain the experimental finding of N₂O, NCO, and CN species in the NO + CO reaction. For the N₂O deoxygenation with CO catalyzed by rhodium atom, the reaction goes facilely forward, which involves the rate-determining step concerning CO₂ formation. CO plays a dominating role in the RhO reduction to regenerate Rh atom. The complexes, OCRhNO, RhON₂, RhNNO, ORhN₂, RhCO₂, RhNCO, and ORhCN, are thermodynamically preferred. Rh atom possesses stronger capability for the N₂O deoxygenation than Rh⁺ cation.     

Spectroscopic evidence for the supply of reactive oxygen during CO oxidation catalyzed by gold supported on nanocrystalline CeO2

Nanocrystalline CeO2 supplies reactive oxygen in the form of surface eta1 superoxide species and peroxide adspecies at the one-electron defect site to the supported active species of gold for the oxidation of CO.     

Electron affinities of small uracil-water complexes: a comparison of benchmark CCSD(T) calculations with DFT

We present benchmark CCSD(T) calculations of the adiabatic electron affinities (AEA) and the vertical detachment energies (VDE) of the uracil molecule interacting with one to three water molecules. Calculations with rather large aug-cc-pVTZ basis set were only tractable when the space of virtual orbitals was reduced to about 60% of the full space employing the OVOS (Optimized Virtual Orbital Space) technique. Because of the microhydration, the valence-bound uracil anion is stabilized leading to gradually more positive values of both AEA and VDE with increasing number of participating water molecules. This agrees with experimental findings. Upon hydration by three water molecules, the electron affinity of uracil increased in comparison with AEA of the isolated molecule by about 250 up to 570 meV, depending on the geometry of the complex. CCSD(T) results confirm trends determined by DFT calculations of the microhydrated uracil and its anion, even if electron affinities of the free and hydrated uracil molecule are overestimated by DFT by up to 300 meV.     

Remarkable CO-catalyst effect of gold nanoclusters on olefin oxidation catalyzed by a manganese-porphyrin complex

The effect of dodecanethiolate-protected metallic nanoclusters of gold (Au:SC12, 1), silver (Ag:SC12), palladium (Pd:SC12), and platinum (Pt:SC12) on the catalytic activity of Mn(TPP)Cl (TPP = tetraphenylporphinato) was investigated in styrene oxidation with iodosylbenzene. Among the four metal clusters, only Au:SC12 led to appreciable acceleration of the catalytic reaction. The major role of the Au cluster was to regenerate the active catalytic path involving Mn(III) and Mn(V) from the deactivated Mn(IV) species. The binary 1/Mn(TPP)Cl catalyst system showed an absorption spectrum characteristic of Mn(III)-porphyrin after reaction, whereas a catalytically ineffective Mn(IV) species was observed as the sole porphyrin species in the absence of the Au cluster or in the presence of Pd, Ag, and Pt clusters. Accordingly, the slow oxidation reaction with Mn(TPP)Cl was accelerated by the addition of Au:SC12, and complete conversion of Mn(IV) into Mn(III) was observed in the absorption spectrum. 1H NMR inspection of the reaction of Au:SC12 and iodosylbenzene revealed that the surface dodecyl groups were partially oxidized into dodecanal and eliminated from the cluster surface, thereby producing unprotected gold sites on the surface. A reactivation mechanism involving the reaction of the Mn-porphyrin and the oxidant activated on the gold surface is proposed.