Hydrogen catalysis and scavenging action of Pd-POSS nanoparticles

Prompted by the need for a self-supported, chemically stable, and functionally flexible catalytic nanoparticle system, we explore a system involving Pd clusters coated with a monolayer of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) cages. With an initial theoretical focus on hydrogen catalysis and sequestration in the Pd-POSS system, we report density functional theory (DFT) results on POSS binding energies to the Pd(1 1 0) surface, hydrogen storing ability of POSS, and possible pathways of hydrogen radicals from the catalyst surface to unsaturated bonds away from the surface.