Surface catalysis, mechanism structure effects

In any case, it is interesting to note that catalytic efficacy has been observed with nano- or mesoporous gold sponges [99-101, 145] suggesting that neither a discrete particle nor an oxide support is actually a fundamental requirement for catalysis. An alternative mechanism invokes the nanoscale structural effect noted in Section 7.2.2, and proposes that the catalytic effect of nanoscale gold structures is simply due to the presence of a large proportion of lowly-coordinated surface atoms, which would have their own, local electronic configurations suitable for the reaction to be catalyzed [34, 49,146] A recent and readily available study by Hvolbaek et al. [4] summarizes the support for this alternate view. 

Promoters are "secret ingredients that are often added to catalysts for reasons of patent law. They have no intrinsic catalytic activity but, by interacting with the actual catalyst mass, they can considerably influence the performance of the catalyst, which has led to their reputation as being black magic . They have a direct or indirect effect on the catalytic cycle, for example, by stabilizing certain structures or modifying sorption properties (Table 2.1-5). Only with the advent of modern methods of surface science has it become possible to understand their role in the catalysis mechanism. 

The combined use of the modem tools of surface science should allow one to understand many fundamental questions in catalysis, at least for metals. These tools afford the experimentalist with an abundance of information on surface structure, surface composition, surface electronic structure, reaction mechanism, and reaction rate parameters for elementary steps. In combination they yield direct information on the effects of surface structure and composition on heterogeneous reactivity or, more accurately, surface reactivity. Consequently, the origin of well-known effects in catalysis such as structure sensitivity, selective poisoning, ligand and ensemble effects in alloy catalysis, catalytic promotion, chemical specificity, volcano effects, to name just a few, should be subject to study via surface science. In addition, mechanistic and kinetic studies can yield information helpful in unraveling results obtained in flow reactors under greatly different operating conditions. 

The study of heterogeneous catalysis with the emphasis on the effects of reactant structure stimulates consideration of the reacting system in terms of mutual interactions. Modification of the catalyst surface by the action of reactants is a part of these interactions. This idea is not new, but hitherto little evidence supported it now it is an inherent component of the accepted mechanism of elimination reactions. In general, the working surface may be quite different from the initial surface. Even the solvent may participate in the mechanism, as the results of the Delft school (125, 161, 162) indicate, by temporally accommodating hydrogen species formed in a reaction step from the reactants or hydrogen molecules on the surface. 

All electrodes react with their environment via the surfaces in ways which will determine their electrochemical performance. Properly selected surface modification can effectively enhance the electrode heterogeneous catalysis property, especially selectivity and activity. The bulk materials can be chosen to provide mechanical, chemical, electrical, and structural integrity. In this part, several surface modification methods will be introduced in terms of metal film deposition, metal ion implantation, electrochemical activation, organic surface coating, nanoparticle deposition, glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme-modified electrode, and DNA-modified electrode. 

Quantum dynamics effects for hydride transfer in enzyme catalysis have been analyzed by Alhambra et. al., 2000. This process is simulated using canonically variational transition-states for overbarrier dynamics and optimized multidimensional paths for tunneling. A system is divided into a primary zone (substrate-enzyme-coenzyme), which is embedded in a secondary zone (substrate-enzyme-coenzyme-solvent). The potential energy surface of the first zone is treated by quantum mechanical electronic structure methods, and protein, coenzyme, and solvent atoms by molecular mechanical force fields. The theory allows the calculation of Schaad-Swain exponents for primary (aprim) and secondary (asec) KIE... 

In a series of papers [109,110,112,113] this catalytic action has been explained in the context of the mechanism of micellar catalysis and has been attributed to the reactants concentrating in the foam adsorption layers to a local change in the pH to the effect of reactant molecules orientation in the adsorption layer and to the surface charge of the transition state (intermediate complex). Compared to micellar catalysis the higher efficiency of film catalysis in a foam has been attributed to the structural features of the surface layers in the foam (the type of adsorption films) that facilitate formation of the reaction transition states of the reaction. However, no special studies that would have unambiguously confirmed these assumptions were undertaken. 

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