A Single‐Molecule‐Level Mechanistic Study of Pd‐Catalyzed and Cu‐Catalyzed Homocoupling of Aryl Bromide on an Au(111) Surface

On‐surface Pd‐ and Cu‐catalyzed C?C coupling reactions between phenyl bromide functionalized porphyrin derivatives on an Au(111) surface have been investigated under ultra‐high vacuum conditions by using scanning tunneling microscopy and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. We monitored the isothermal reaction kinetics by allowing the reaction to proceed at different temperatures. We discovered that the reactions catalyzed by Pd or Cu can be described as a two‐phase process that involves an initial activation followed by C?C bond formation. However, the distinctive reaction kinetics and the C?C bond‐formation yield associated with the two catalysts account for the different reaction mechanisms: the initial activation phase is the rate‐limiting step for the Cu‐catalyzed reaction at all temperatures tested, whereas the later phase of C?C formation is the rate‐limiting step for the Pd‐catalyzed reaction at high temperature. Analysis of rate constants of the Pd‐catalyzed reactions allowed us to determine its activation energy as (0.41±0.03) eV.     

Rational Design of a Palladium-Catalyzed C(sp) -C(sp) Cross-Coupling Reaction Inspired by Kinetic Studies

Less is More: A highly selective Pd-catalyzed C(sp) -C(sp) cross-coupling reaction between terminal alkynes and 1-bromoacetylenes has been developed. Catalyst loading is low (only 0.0001-0.01?mol?% of Pd is required) and provides products with high selectivities and good to excellent yields under mild conditions. TBAB=tetrabutylammonium bromide, TON=turnover number.     

Self‐Recovery of Pd Nanoparticles That Were Dispersed over La(Sr)Fe(Mn)O3 for Intelligent Oxide Anodes of Solid‐Oxide Fuel Cells

Self‐recovery is one of the most‐desirable properties for functional materials. Recently, oxide anodes have attracted significant attention as alternative anode materials for solid‐oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) that can overcome reoxidation, deactivation, and coke‐deposition. However, the electrical conductivity and surface activity of the most‐widely used oxide anodes remain unsatisfactory. Herein, we report the synthesis of an “intelligent oxide anode” that exhibits self‐recovery from power‐density degradation in the redox cycle by using a Pd‐doped La(Sr)Fe‐ (Mn)O₃ cell as an oxide anode for the SOFCs. We investigated the anodic performance and oxidation‐tolerance of the cell by using Pd‐doped perovskite as an anode and fairly high maximum power densities of 0.5 and 0.1 W cm^?2 were achieved at 1073 and 873 K, respectively, despite using a 0.3 mm‐thick electrolyte. Long‐term stability was also examined and the power density was recovered upon exposure of the anode to air. This recovery of the power density can be explained by the formation of Pd nanoparticles, which were self‐recovered through reoxidation and reduction. In addition, the self‐recovery of the anode by oxidation was confirmed by XRD and SEM and this process was effective for improving the durability of SOFC systems when they were exposed to severe operating conditions.     

Effect of Non‐Specifically Adsorbed Ions on the Surface Oxidation of Pt(111)

The oxidation processes of a Pt(111) electrode in alkaline electrolytes depend on non‐specifically adsorbed ions according to in situ X‐ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopic measurements. In an aqueous solution of LiOH, an OH_ad adlayer is formed in the first oxidation step of the Pt(111) electrode as a result of the strong interaction between Li⁺ and OH_ad, whereas Pt oxidation proceeds without OH_ad formation in CsOH solution. Structural analysis by X‐ray diffraction indicates that Li⁺ is strongly protective against surface roughening caused by subsurface oxidation. Although Cs⁺ is situated near the Pt surface, the weak protective effect of Cs⁺ results in irreversible surface roughening due to subsurface oxidation.     

Tuning the Surface Chemistry of Pd by Atomic C and H: A Microscopic Picture

Palladium is crucial for industry‐related applications such as heterogeneous catalysis, energy production, and hydrogen technologies. In many processes, atomic H and C species are proposed to be present in the surface/near‐surface area of Pd, thus noticeably affecting its chemical activity. This study provides a detail and unified view on the interactions of the H and C species with Pd nanoparticles (NPs), which is indispensable for insight into their catalytic properties. Density functional calculations of the interplay of C and H atoms at various concentrations and sites on suitable Pd NPs have been performed, accompanied by catalysis‐relevant experiments on oxide‐supported bare and C‐modified Pd NPs. It is shown that on a Pd₇₉ NP a subsurface C atom destabilizes nearby atoms H at low coverage. Our experiments confirm that H atoms bind more weakly on C‐containing Pd NPs than on C‐free NPs. Various factors related to the presence of both H and C atoms on a Pd₇₉ surface, which may influence the penetration of H atoms from the surface into the subsurface area, have been investigated. Carbon atoms facilitate the subsurface penetration of atomic H both thermodynamically and kinetically when the surface is densely covered by H atoms. Moreover, subsurface H atoms are also energetically favored, even in the absence of C atoms, when several facets of the NP are covered by H atoms.     

Metal@COFs: Covalent Organic Frameworks as Templates for Pd Nanoparticles and Hydrogen Storage Properties of Pd@COF‐102 Hybrid Material

Three‐dimensional covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been demonstrated as a new class of templates for nanoparticles. Photodecomposition of the [Pd(η³‐C₃H₅)(η⁵‐C₅H₅)]@COF‐102 inclusion compound (synthesized by a gas‐phase infiltration method) led to the formation of the Pd@COF‐102 hybrid material. Advanced electron microscopy techniques (including high‐angle annular dark‐field scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron tomography) along with other conventional characterization techniques unambiguously showed that highly monodisperse Pd nanoparticles ((2.4±0.5) nm) were evenly distributed inside the COF‐102 framework. The Pd@COF‐102 hybrid material is a rare example of a metal‐nanoparticle‐loaded porous crystalline material with a very narrow size distribution without any larger agglomerates even at high loadings (30 wt %). Two samples with moderate Pd content (3.5 and 9.5 wt %) were used to study the hydrogen storage properties of the metal‐decorated COF surface. The uptakes at room temperature from these samples were higher than those of similar systems such as Pd@metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). The studies show that the H₂ capacities were enhanced by a factor of 2–3 through Pd impregnation on COF‐102 at room temperature and 20 bar. This remarkable enhancement is not just due to Pd hydride formation and can be mainly ascribed to hydrogenation of residual organic compounds, such as bicyclopentadiene. The significantly higher reversible hydrogen storage capacity that comes from decomposed products of the employed organometallic Pd precursor suggests that this discovery may be relevant to the discussion of the spillover phenomenon in metal/MOFs and related systems.     

Surface Chemistry on Small Ruthenium Nanoparticles: Evidence for Site Selective Reactions and Influence of Ligands

The reactivity of two classes of ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru NPs) of small size, either sterically stabilized by a polymer (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) or electronically stabilized by a ligand (bisdiphenylphosphinobutane, dppb) was tested towards standard reactions, namely CO oxidation, CO₂ reduction and styrene hydrogenation. The aim of the work was to identify the sites of reactivity on the nanoparticles and to study how the presence of ancillary ligands can influence the course of these catalytic reactions by using NMR and IR spectroscopies. It was found that CO oxidation proceeds at room temperature (RT) on Ru NPs but that the system deactivates rapidly in the absence of ligands because of the formation of RuO₂. In the presence of ligands, the reaction involves exclusively the bridging CO groups and no bulk oxidation is observed at RT under catalytic conditions. The reverse reaction, CO₂ reduction, is achieved at 120 °C in the presence of H₂ and leads to CO, which coordinates exclusively in a bridging mode, hence evidencing the competition between hydrides and CO for coordination on Ru NPs. The effect of ligands localized on the surface is also evidenced in catalytic reactions. Thus, styrene is slowly hydrogenated at RT by the two systems Ru/PVP and Ru/dppb, first into ethylbenzene and then into ethylcyclohexane. Selectively poisoning the nanoparticles with bridging CO groups leads to catalysts that are only able to reduce the vinyl group of styrene whereas a full poisoning with both terminal and bridging CO groups leads to inactive catalysts. These results are interpreted in terms of location of the ligands on the particles surface, and evidence site selectivity for both CO oxidation and arene hydrogenation.     

Full Characterization of Colloidal Solutions of Long‐Alkyl‐Chain‐Amine‐Stabilized ZnO Nanoparticles by NMR Spectroscopy: Surface State,Equilibria, and Affinity

Full NMR characterization of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) stabilized by various amines (hexadecylamine, dodecylamine, and octylamine) in C₇D₈ demonstrated that the surface of this apparently simple system was very complex. Using different NMR spectroscopic techniques (¹H, PGSE‐NMR, diffusion‐filtered ¹H NMR, NOESY, ROESY), we observed at least three different modes of interaction of the amines at the surface of the NPs, in thermodynamic equilibrium with the free amines, the relative populations of which varied with their concentration. The first mode corresponded to a strong interaction between a small amount of amine and the ZnO NPs (k_desorp≈13 s^?1). The second mode corresponded to a weak interaction between the amines and the surface of the ZnO NPs (k_off(2)≈50–60 s^?1). The third, and weakest, mode of interaction corresponded to the formation of a second ligand shell by the amine around the NPs that was held together through van der Waals interactions (k_off(1)≈25×10⁵ s^?1). The second and third modes were in fast exchange on the NMR timescales with the free amines. The strongly interacting amines at the NPs surface (first mode) were in slow exchange with the other modes. A complex hydrogen‐bonding network at the NPs surface was also observed, which did not only involve the coordinated amine but also THF and water molecules that remained from the synthesis.     

Chemistry of O‐ and H‐Containing Species on the (001) Surface of Anatase TiO2: A DFT Study

The chemistry of oxygen, hydrogen, water, and other species containing both oxygen and hydrogen atoms on the anatase TiO₂ (001) surface is investigated by DFT. The adsorption energy of atoms and radicals depends appreciably on the position and mode of adsorption, and on the coverage. Molecular hydrogen and oxygen interact weakly with the clean surface. However, H₂O dissociates spontaneously to give two nonidentical hydroxyl groups, and this provides a model for hydroxylation of TiO₂ surfaces by water. The mobility of the hydroxyl groups created by water splitting is initially impeded by a diffusion barrier close to 1 eV. The O₂ adsorption energy increases significantly in the presence of H atoms. Hydroperoxy (OOH) formation is feasible if at least two H atoms are present in the direct vicinity of O₂. In the adsorbed OOH, the O? O bond is considerably lengthened and thus weakened.     

Real‐Space Observation of Atomic Site‐Specific Electronic Properties of a Pt Nanoisland/Au(111) Bimetallic Surface by Tip‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Resolving atomic site‐specific electronic properties and correlated substrate–molecule interactions is challenging in real space. Now, mapping of sub‐10 nm sized Pt nanoislands on a Au(111) surface was achieved by tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy, using the distinct Raman fingerprints of adsorbed 4‐chlorophenyl isocyanide molecules. A spatial resolution better than 2.5 nm allows the electronic properties of the terrace, step edge, kink, and corner sites with varying coordination environments to be resolved in real space in one Pt nanoisland. Calculations suggest that low‐coordinate atomic sites have a higher d‐band electronic profile and thus stronger metal–molecule interactions, leading to the observed blue‐shift of Raman frequency of the N≡C bond of adsorbed molecules. An experimental and theoretical study on Pt(111) and mono‐ and bi‐atomic layer Pt nanoislands on a Au(111) surface reveals the bimetallic effect that weakens with the increasing number of deposited Pt adlayer.     

Activation of Hydrogen by Palladium(0): Formation of the Mononuclear Dihydride Complex trans‐[Pd(H)2(IPr)(PCy3)]

An even split : In sharp contrast with the general behavior of Pd⁰ complexes, [Pd(IPr)(PCy₃)] is able to activate the H? H bond. The resulting trans‐[Pd(H)₂(IPr)(PCy₃)] is the first isolated mononuclear dihydride palladium compound. Its formation is supported by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, density functional calculations, and X‐ray diffraction studies. The stability and reactivity of this new species are examined.