Surface-bound coordinatively unsaturated

Surface-Bound Coordinatively Unsaturated Metal Clusters in Catalysis... 

Electrocatalysis employing Co complexes as catalysts may have the complex in solution, adsorbed onto the electrode surface, or covalently bound to the electrode surface. This is exemplified with some selected examples. Cobalt(I) coordinatively unsaturated complexes of 2,2 -dipyridine promote the electrochemical oxidation of organic halides, the apparent rate constant showing a first order dependence on substrate concentration.1398,1399 Catalytic reduction of dioxygen has been observed on a glassy carbon electrode to which a cobalt(III) macrocycle tetraamine complex has been adsorbed.1400,1401... 

Significant progress has been achieved in the preceding few years in the study of titanosilicate molecular sieves, especially TS-1, TS-2, Ti-beta, and Ti-MCM-41. In the dehydrated, pristine state most of the Ti4+ ions on the surfaces of these materials are tetrahedrally coordinated, being present in either one of two structures a tetrapodal (Ti(OSi)4) or a tripodal (Ti(OSi)3OH) structure. The former predominates in TS-1, TS-2, and Ti-beta, and the latter is prominent in Ti-MCM-41. The Ti ions are coordinatively unsaturated and act as Lewis acid sites that coordinatively bind molecules such as H20, NH3, CH3CN, and H202. Upon interaction with H202 or H2 + 02, the Ti ions form titanium oxo species. Spectroscopic techniques have been used to identify side-bound hydroperoxo species such as Ti(02H) and superoxo structures such as Ti(02 ) on these catalysts. 

The picture that emerges is that the bonding within the majority of thiophene molecules adsorbed on the catalyst surfaces is hardly perturbed, and this contrasts sharply with the situation in the thiophene complexes. The thiophene molecule parallel to the surface does not correspond to a metal f/ -bound thiophene. Rather, it is suggestive of a weakly chemisorbed precursor state of thiophene that lies parallel to the surface. In this state, the molecule interacts indiscriminately with the alumina, the basal or edge planes, or both. Moreover, the weakness of this binding enhances the surface mobility of thiophene and allows molecules to move across the surface to the catalytic site for reaction with hydrogen atoms. The few sulfur-bound thiophene molecules, no more than 5-10%, would then correspond to thiophene at the coordinatively unsaturated Mo (or Co) atoms. 

The predominance of the cis isomers in the products of the Pd- or Ni-catalyzed hydrogenations of di-substituted alkynes suggests that the main reaction path involves the alkyne bound to a single metal atom as in catalysis by the mononuclear complexes ClRhLs or HRhL4- Surface sites which can furnish the required coordinative unsaturation correspond to the designations and — M. The latter designa-... 

Coordinately bound water firmly held in the form of H2O molecules exists on nonhydroxyl centers of the Il-type these centers are coordinately unsaturated Si atoms on the surface of the sample. The concentration of the Il-type centers is small asi = 0.1-0.3 Si atoms per square nanometer. 

In conclusion, partially dehydroxylated oxide surfaces exhibit a large inventory of surface OH groups and water molecules together with Lewis acidic and Lewis basic sites with coordinative unsaturation (structures II and III of Scheme 1). The hydroxyl population is the souree of protons that cause enhanced surface electrical conductivity and catalytic activity. It is significant that the increase in the conductivity value is paralleled by increases in either the amount of weakly bound protons or their mobility [48]. Almost all metal oxides are active in catalytic isomerization of alkenes, which is one of the least demanding reactions in terms of the requirements for the acid strength of active sites [34]. Studies on several oxide systems show that the activity is lost after extensive dehydration and is partially restored by... 

Alumina prepared by conventional hydrolysis of aluminum compound precursors is covered by surface hydroxyl groups. High-temperature calcination is needed in order to expose the surface coordination unsaturation of A1 ions. A new method, which involves stoichiometric hydrolysis of an amine-Al alkoxide monomeric complex, can generate alumina with a surface that is covered with far fewer hydroxyls without high-temperature postsynthesis treatment. In this method, the coordination unsaturation site of A1 is protected with an amine throughout the preparation process. The bound amine on the alumina surface can be exchanged with other bases, and the final solid is a Lewis-acid catalyst and catalyzes reactions such as aminolysis of epoxide. The chemistry in the preparation of such an alumina is described. 

The adsorption of adatoms, and also other strongly bound surface intermediates, weakens the metal-metal bonds in the surface layer and between surface and subsurface. The bond strength between the adatom (A) and the surface-metal atom (M) is sensitive to the coordinative unsaturation of the surface metal atoms. The combination of these two effects can result in a rearrangement of the surface metal atoms to increase the surface energy when the surface is covered by an overlayer of adsorbed atoms. 

---