Adsorbate metal complex

Metal clusters on supports are typically synthesized from organometallic precursors and often from metal carbonyls, as follows (1) The precursor metal cluster may be deposited onto a support surface from solution or (2) a mononuclear metal complex may react with the support to form an adsorbed metal complex that is treated to convert it into an adsorbed metal carbonyl cluster or (3) a mononuclear metal complex precursor may react with the support in a single reaction to form a metal carbonyl cluster bonded to the support. In a subsequent synthesis step, metal carbonyl clusters on a support may be treated to remove the carbonyl ligands, because these occupy bonding positions that limit the catalytic activity. 

Instead of electrostatic (or physical) adsorption, metal uptake onto oxides might be considered chemical in nature. In chemical mechanisms, the metal precursor is envisioned to react with the oxide surface, involving as surface-ligand exchange [13,14] in which OH groups from the surface replace ligands in the adsorbing metal complex. In this section it will be shown that a relatively simple electrostatic interpretation of the adsorption of a number of catalyst precursors is the most reasonable one for a number of noble metal/oxide systems. 

When the metal concentration is sufficiently low and the concentration of the interfacially adsorbed metal complex is consequently low, for the stationary condition at [MB]ad... 

CSV involves the addition of a ligand of known thermodynamic properties to the solution, equilibration and the accumulation of an adsorbed metal complex on a mercury electrode and its reduction by a cathodic potential scan. CSV measures only the metal species that will react with the ligand, either at the electrode or in solution. The method has found application in ligand competition methods for speciation analysis as discussed below. 

Adsorbed molecules can be chemically stripped using both oxidants and reductants depending on the nature of the analyte in question. In most systems the analyte remains strongly adsorbed in both its oxidized and reduced forms. For example, the two-electron oxidation of an adsorbed metal complex would be given by the equation... 

During adsorption a eharge transfer takes place between the metal and the adsorbate and a dipole moment is established. The effective dipole moment l of an individual adsorbate-metal complex ean be derived from the measurable change of the work function A( ) at a coverage (particles/cm ) according to the relation A(]) = 411 As a consequence of the existence of a dipole layer, pairwise repulsive interactions may develop. 

Participation in the electrode reactions The electrode reactions of corrosion involve the formation of adsorbed intermediate species with surface metal atoms, e.g. adsorbed hydrogen atoms in the hydrogen evolution reaction adsorbed (FeOH) in the anodic dissolution of iron . The presence of adsorbed inhibitors will interfere with the formation of these adsorbed intermediates, but the electrode processes may then proceed by alternative paths through intermediates containing the inhibitor. In these processes the inhibitor species act in a catalytic manner and remain unchanged. Such participation by the inhibitor is generally characterised by a change in the Tafel slope observed for the process. Studies of the anodic dissolution of iron in the presence of some inhibitors, e.g. halide ions , aniline and its derivatives , the benzoate ion and the furoate ion , have indicated that the adsorbed inhibitor I participates in the reaction, probably in the form of a complex of the type (Fe-/), or (Fe-OH-/), . The dissolution reaction proceeds less readily via the adsorbed inhibitor complexes than via (Fe-OH),js, and so anodic dissolution is inhibited and an increase in Tafel slope is observed for the reaction. 

Figure 9. Adsorption of intermediate layer (metal-ion complex) in anodic metal dissolution. A (aq), hydrated anion M2+(M), metal adion MA+(ad), adsorbed metal-ion complex MA (aq), hydrated metal-ion complex.

In spite of these limitations, three examples of (salen)-metal complex adsorption have been described. In the first one, Jacobsen s complex (la-MnCl) was adsorbed on Al-MCM-41 [27] by impregnation with a solution of the complex in dichloromethane, an approach that prevents the possible cationic exchange. The results in the epoxidation of 1,2-dihydronaphthalene with aqueous NaOCl were comparable to those obtained in solution, with only a slight reduction in enantioselectivity (55% ee instead of 60% ee). However, recycling of this catalyst was not described. 

All mechanisms proposed in Scheme 7 start from the common hypotheses that the coordinatively unsaturated Cr(II) site initially adsorbs one, two, or three ethylene molecules via a coordinative d-7r bond (left column in Scheme 7). Supporting considerations about the possibility of coordinating up to three ethylene molecules come from Zecchina et al. [118], who recently showed that Cr(II) is able to adsorb and trimerize acetylene, giving benzene. Concerning the oxidation state of the active chromium sites, it is important to notice that, although the Cr(II) form of the catalyst can be considered as active , in all the proposed reactions the metal formally becomes Cr(IV) as it is converted into the active site. These hypotheses are supported by studies of the interaction of molecular transition metal complexes with ethylene [119,120]. Groppo et al. [66] have recently reported that the XANES feature at 5996 eV typical of Cr(II) species is progressively eroded upon in situ ethylene polymerization. 

The first one is the direct synthesis of metallic nanoclusters, not via formation of (hydro)oxides and their reduction in gas-phase, because the successive reduction for formed (hydro)oxides sometimes results in the size growth of metal particles due to the aggregation and/or sintering. The second one is the use of precisely designed metal complexes, which are well adsorbed on the support surfaces, as shown in Figure 1. 

The release of N2 occurs within function 3. It involves the dissociation of NO (via a dinitrosyl-adsorbed intermediate), followed by subsequent formation of N2 and scavenging of the adsorbed oxygen species left from NO dissociation. The removal of adsorbed oxygen is due to the total oxidation of an activated reductant (CxHyOz). This reaction corresponds to a supported homogeneous catalytic process involving a surface transition metal complex. The corresponding catalytic sequence of elementary steps occurs in the coordinative sphere of the metal cation. 

Furthermore, ir-arene complexes of transition metals are seldom formed by the direct reaction of benzene with metal complexes. More usually, the syntheses require the formation of (often unstable) metal aryl complexes and these are then converted to ir-arene complexes. The analogous formation of w-adsorbed benzene at a metal surface via the initial formation of ff-adsorbcd phenyl, merits more consideration than it has yet been given. It is to be hoped that the recognition and study of structure-sensitive reactions will allow more exact definition of the sites responsible for catalytic activity at metal surfaces. The reactions of benzene, using suitably labeled materials, may prove to be useful probes for such studies. 

When propylene chemisorbs to form this symmetric allylic species, the double-bond frequency occurs at 1545 cm-1, a value 107 cm-1 lower than that found for gaseous propylene hence, by the usual criteria, the propylene is 7r-bonded to the surface. For such a surface ir-allyl there should be gross similarities to known ir-allyl complexes of transition metals. Data for allyl complexes of manganese carbonyls (SI) show that for the cr-allyl species the double-bond frequency occurs at about 1620 cm-1 formation of the x-allyl species causes a much larger double-bond frequency shift to 1505 cm-1. The shift observed for adsorbed propylene is far too large to involve a simple o--complex, but is somewhat less than that observed for transition metal r-allyls. Since simple -complexes show a correlation of bond strength to double-bond frequency shift, it seems reasonable to suppose that the smaller shift observed for surface x-allyls implies a weaker bonding than that found for transition metal complexes. 

The relative importance of the two mechanisms - the non-local electromagnetic (EM) theory and the local charge transfer (CT) theory - remains a source of considerable discussion. It is generally considered that large-scale rough surfaces, e.g. gratings, islands, metallic spheres etc., favour the EM theory. In contrast, the CT mechanism requires chemisorption of the adsorbate at special atomic scale (e.g. adatom) sites on the metal surface, resulting in a metal/adsorbate CT complex. In addition, considerably enhanced Raman spectra have been obtained from surfaces prepared in such a way as to deliberately exclude one or the other mechanism. 

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