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Frontispiece: Contributions of Internal Atoms of Atomically Precise Metal Nanoclusters to Catalytic Performances
Author(s) -
Cai Xiao,
Sun Yongnan,
Xu Jiayu,
Zhu Yan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.202184562
Subject(s) - nanoclusters , catalysis , atom (system on chip) , nanotechnology , metal , chemical physics , materials science , focus (optics) , chemistry , physics , computer science , metallurgy , biochemistry , optics , embedded system
It is extremely challenging to determine explicitly which atom(s) can contribute most to overall catalytic performance because the observed performance reflects an ensemble average from all the atoms in the catalyst. The emergence of atomically precise metal nanoclusters brings unprecedented opportunities to address the above central issue, as the crystal structures of such nanoclusters have been solved and a very fundamental understanding of metal catalysis can be attained at an atomic level. In this Minireview, we mainly focus on unveiling the mystery of how the internal atoms or vacancies of nanocluster catalysts can induce catalytic processes. We anticipate that the progress in this area could represent a novel conceptual framework for understanding the crucial roles of internal atoms of the catalysts in modulating catalytic properties. For more details, see the Minireview by Y. Zhu et al. on page 11539 ff.