Design efforts for supported metal catalysts typically focus on tailoring the properties of surface active sites.  A complementary strategy is to tailor the near-surface environment above the metal surface to gain increased control over catalyst activity, selectivity, and stability.  For example, organic monolayers can self-assemble on metal surfaces to modify catalytic activity.  By tuning the functional groups in the organic ligands, it is possible to manipulate non-covalent interactions in the near-surface environment to control reaction selectivity.  Alternatively, surface modification with composite metal-organic films through molecular layer deposition can produce catalysts that are resistant to deactivation through coking and sintering.  In this contribution, the mechanisms by which control over key catalyst performance metrics such as selectivity and lifetime are achieved will be discussed, with a particular focus on elucidating differences between effects that are fundamentally driven by changes near the active site rather than directly at the active site.

Control of catalyst performance by surface modification with thin films

248th National Meeting (2014)

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