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

Authors

• Fei Wang, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
• Jinzhu Ma, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
• Shaohui Xin, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
• Qiang Wang, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics
• Jun Xu, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics
• Changbin Zhang, Chinese Academy of SciencesFollow
• Hong He, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
• Xiao Cheng Zeng, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

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

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

Xiao Cheng Zeng http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4672-8585

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2020

Citation

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2020) 11:529

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13937-1

Comments

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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.