Resolving the puzzle of single-atom silver dispersion on nanosized γ-Al2O3 surface for high catalytic performance

Authors

Fei Wang, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jinzhu Ma, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shaohui Xin, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qiang Wang, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jun Xu, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Changbin Zhang, Chinese Academy of SciencesFollow
Hong He, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiao Cheng Zeng, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4364-9956

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7741-3733

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4672-8585

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

1-27-2020

Citation

The Author(s) 2020

Comments

(2020) 11:529 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13937-1 | www.nature.com/naturecommunications

Abstract

Ag/γ-Al2O3 is widely used for catalyzing various reactions, and its performance depends on the valence state, morphology and dispersion of Ag species. However, detailed anchoring mechanism of Ag species on γ-Al2O3 remains largely unknown. Herein, we reveal that the terminal hydroxyls on γ-Al2O3 are responsible for anchoring Ag species. The abundant terminal hydroxyls existed on nanosized γ-Al2O3 can lead to single-atom silver dispersion, thereby resulting in markedly enhanced performance than the Ag cluster on microsized γ-Al2O3. Density-functional-theory calculations confirm that Ag atom is mainly anchored by the terminal hydroxyls on (100) surface, forming a staple-like local structure with each Ag atom bonded with two or three terminal hydroxyls. Our finding resolves the puzzle on why the single-atom silver dispersion can be spontaneously achieved only on nanosized γ-Al2O3, but not on microsized γ-Al2O3. The obtained insight into the Ag species dispersion will benefit future design of more efficient supported Ag catalysts. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13937-1 OPEN 1