Interaction of metal clusters with perfect and defective MgO

4 Interaction of metal clusters with perfect and defective MgO(OOl) 

The interaction of metallic clusters with MgO (001) has been advanced by the experiments performed by Heiz et a/.146,147 In this approach, a thin film of MgO is grown on a support by oxidation of Mg, and this is followed by deposition of mass selected clusters. Due to the procedure employed, the MgO film can be prepared with either large or small amounts of defects. The possibility of performing chemical reactions on top of mass selected cluster deposited on a given support creates an invaluable bridge between theory and experiment for model-supported catalysts. 

Clusters of several metals with very different properties supported on regular sites and on F centres of MgO have been also considered and several relevant properties calculated.148,149 However, in general, only very small clusters containing about 4-5 atoms have been considered. The metals considered were Co, Ni, Cu, Pd and Ag. The different isomers can be 

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