Catalysts, electronic structure

The change in the electronic structure of a bulk metal catalyst, in consequence of its transformation into the hydride, influences respectively the metal surface atoms (ions) or, strictly speaking, their d orbitals. Recent achievements and the present knowledge of the subject only permit us so far to formulate such general conclusions. 

Bis(imino)pyridine iron complex 5 as a highly efficient catalyst for a hydrogenation reaction was synthesized by Chirik and coworkers in 2004 [27]. Complex 5 looks like a Fe(0) complex, but detailed investigations into the electronic structure of 5 by metrical data, Mossbauer parameters, infrared and NMR spectroscopy, and DFT calculations established the Fe(ll) complex described as 5 in Fig. 2 to be the higher populated species [28]. 

The different classes of Ru-based catalysts, including crystalline Chevrel-phase chalcogenides, nanostructured Ru, and Ru-Se clusters, and also Ru-N chelate compounds (RuNj), have been reviewed recently by Lee and Popov [29] in terms of the activity and selectivity toward the four-electron oxygen reduction to water. The conclusion was drawn that selenium is a critical element controlling the catalytic properties of Ru clusters as it directly modifies the electronic structure of the catalytic reaction center and increases the resistance to electrochemical oxidation of interfacial Ru atoms in acidic environments. 

Determination of the Atomic and Electronic Structure of Platinum Catalysts by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy... 

In the electron transfer theories discussed so far, the metal has been treated as a structureless donor or acceptor of electrons—its electronic structure has not been considered. Mathematically, this view is expressed in the wide band approximation, in which A is considered as independent of the electronic energy e. For the. sp-metals, which near the Fermi level have just a wide, stmctureless band composed of. s- and p-states, this approximation is justified. However, these metals are generally bad catalysts for example, the hydrogen oxidation reaction proceeds very slowly on all. sp-metals, but rapidly on transition metals such as platinum and palladium [Trasatti, 1977]. Therefore, a theory of electrocatalysis must abandon the wide band approximation, and take account of the details of the electronic structure of the metal near the Fermi level [Santos and Schmickler, 2007a, b, c Santos and Schmickler, 2006]. 

In spite of the importance of having an accurate description of the real electrochemical environment for obtaining absolute values, it seems that for these systems many trends and relative features can be obtained within a somewhat simpler framework. To make use of the wide range of theoretical tools and models developed within the fields of surface science and heterogeneous catalysis, we will concentrate on the effect of the surface and the electronic structure of the catalyst material. Importantly, we will extend the analysis by introducing a simple technique to account for the electrode potential. Hence, the aim of this chapter is to link the successful theoretical surface science framework with the complicated electrochemical environment in a model simple enough to allow for the development of both trends and general conclusions. 

Wakisaka M, Mitsui S, Hirose H, Kawashima K, Uchida H, Watanabe M. 2006. Electronic structures of Pt-Co and Pt-Ru alloys for CO-tolerant anode catalysts in polymer electrol3de fuel cells studied by EC-XPS. J Phys Chem B 110 23489-23496. 

Scanning electron microscopy and other experimental methods indicate that the void spaces in a typical catalyst particle are not uniform in size, shape, or length. Moreover, they are often highly interconnected. Because of the complexities of most common pore structures, detailed mathematical descriptions of the void structure are not available. Moreover, because of other uncertainties involved in the design of catalytic reactors, the use of elaborate quantitative models of catalyst pore structures is not warranted. What is required, however, is a model that allows one to take into account the rates of diffusion of reactant and product species through the void spaces. Many of the models in common use simulate the void regions as cylindrical pores for such models a knowledge of the distribution of pore radii and the volumes associated therewith is required. 

We can expect that in future it might probably enable us to characterize the reactivity of all reaction participants, including the reaction components and the catalyst itself, in terms of their electronic structure. The quantum chemical methods for approximate description of the polyatomic molecules (reaction components) have already been worked out. However, a very important problem arises here, one which has to be studied carefully, namely, the representation of the catalyst in the frame of this theoretical approach. 

Much of the work described in this section has inevitably to be reviewed against the background of earlier work using alloy catalysts where it was hoped to correlate activity or adsorptive properties with the electronic structure of the alloy (cf. Introduction). Therefore, it seems useful to summarize some current ideas about d-band structure with particular reference to the Pd-Ag system which has been extensively studied. However, it has been stated (96) that the differences between the Cu-Ni and the Pd-Ag systems, with respect to electronic structure, may be more impressive than their similarities and this must be kept in mind, i.e., ideas... 

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