Model Systems in Catalysis for Energy Economy

Niklas Nilius, Martin Sterrer, Shamil Shaikhutdinov, Dietrich Menzei, and Hans-Joachim Freund 

Heterogeneous thermal and photocatalysis are bound to play a key role in those solutions. However, while thermal heterogeneous catalysis is widespread in chemical industries, and photocatalysis not yet, there is still a strong demand in both areas for research in order to understand the process and its elementary steps as well as to rationally design the catalytic material. 

Investigation of model catalysts can play a decisive role in a rational approach to understand heterogeneous catalysis, and this is the topic of this chapter [3-6], 

In the introduction, the model systems will be defined to familiarize the reader with the approach in order to appreciate the connection to real-world catalysis. Following the introduction, we will demonstrate via four case studies various fundamental aspects in thermal and photocatalysis whereby studies on model systems might become important to unravel the foundations of reaction mechanisms. 

The model systems have been created under the premises that it is possible to investigate them at the atomic scale using the toolbox that has been developed in surface science during the second half of the last century up to now [7]. 

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