Single atom and nanocluster metal catalysts have attracted great attentions due to their high catalytic performance and atom utilization efficiency. Stability and activity of single atom and nanocluster metal catalysts can be effectively tailored by metal-oxide interaction, which can be explored at the atomic scale with the assistance of model catalyst systems. Here, ultrathin films of FeO and FeO2-x grown on Pt(111) are used as well-defined templates for construction of metal nanoclusters. Periodic arrays of Cu clusters in the form of monomers and trimers are preferentially located at FCC domains of FeO/Pt(111) surface, while selective location of Cu clusters at FeO2 domains is observed on FeO2-x/Pt(111) surface by using scanning tunneling microscope (STM). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show that more charge of Cu is transferred to FeO2-x, suggesting stronger electronic interaction at Cu-FeO2-x interface than Cu-FeO. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations find that interactions between Cu adatoms and different regions of FeO and FeO2-x follow a sequence of FeO2-FCC &gt; FeO-FCC &gt; FeO-HCP &gt; FeO-TOP, which is in line with experimental results. FeO and FeO2-x films both with saturated O-terminal surfaces have quite different interactions with Cu atoms, which can be illustrated by p-band center of surface oxygen. This descriptor can be used to reflect the reactivity and electronic structure of surface oxygen and further determine interactions between metal adatoms and oxides. This work is helpful for understanding of metal-oxide interaction and rational design of metal catalysts.

Growth of metal nanoclusters with periodic arrays on ultrathin Fe oxide films and exploration of metal-oxide interaction

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