Transition metals supported on metal oxides as atomically dispersed species have attracted significant attention as next-generation heterogenous catalysts. However, clear trends between the properties of the atomically dispersed species and the composition of the support have been difficult to establish. Here, we demonstrate that when uniform, isostructural species are produced on different oxides, intuitive trends emerge between the properties of the metal and support composition. The resulting trend suggests that more reducible oxides coordinate more strongly to isolated metal atoms, yielding atomically dispersed species that are more stable but less reactive. We further demonstrate that using tunable metal oxide nanocrystals, the catalytic behavior of the atomically dispersed catalysts can be precisely controlled. These findings show that when isostructural atomically dispersed species are produced, simple trends emerge for understanding and controlling their catalytic behavior.

Engineering the activity and stability of atomically dispersed metal catalysts

ACS Spring 2022

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