Model studies on heterogeneous catalysts at the atomic scale

Abstract

Thin single crystalline oxide films comprise perfect supports to grow nanoparticles of metals and other catalytically relevant materials. The model systems thus created can be thoroughly investigated with respect to structure and/or chemical activity applying both, the techniques of surface science under ultrahigh vacuum conditions as well as the traditional techniques applied in catalysis to study chemical kinetics under ambient conditions. We discuss here in particular the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde on ceria supported vanadia nanoclusters as well as the effect of transition-metal dopants in single crystalline oxides, such as CaO, on the activation of molecular oxygen. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.