Nicholas C. Nelson’s research while affiliated with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and other places

The application of single‐atom catalysts (SACs) to high‐temperature hydrogenation requires materials that thermodynamically favor metal atom isolation over cluster formation. We demonstrate that Pd can be predominantly dispersed as isolated atoms onto TiO2 during the reverse water–gas shift (rWGS) reaction at 400 °C. Achieving atomic dispersion requires an artificial increase of the absolute TiO2 surface area by an order of magnitude and can be accomplished by physically mixing a precatalyst (Pd/TiO2) with neat TiO2 prior to the rWGS reaction. The in situ dispersion of Pd was reflected through a continuous increase of rWGS activity over 92 h and supported by kinetic analysis, infrared and X‐ray absorption spectroscopies and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The thermodynamic stability of Pd under high‐temperature rWGS conditions is associated with Pd‐Ti coordination, which manifests upon O‐vacancy formation, and the artificial increase in TiO2 surface area.

Dilution of Pd/TiO2 with neat TiO2 results in the formation of atomically dispersed Pd under reverse water–gas shift (rWGS) reaction conditions at 400 °C and a several‐fold increase in activity. Abstract The application of single‐atom catalysts (SACs) to high‐temperature hydrogenation requires materials that thermodynamically favor metal atom isolation over cluster formation. We demonstrate that Pd can be predominantly dispersed as isolated atoms onto TiO2 during the reverse water–gas shift (rWGS) reaction at 400 °C. Achieving atomic dispersion requires an artificial increase of the absolute TiO2 surface area by an order of magnitude and can be accomplished by physically mixing a precatalyst (Pd/TiO2) with neat TiO2 prior to the rWGS reaction. The in situ dispersion of Pd was reflected through a continuous increase of rWGS activity over 92 h and supported by kinetic analysis, infrared and X‐ray absorption spectroscopies and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The thermodynamic stability of Pd under high‐temperature rWGS conditions is associated with Pd‐Ti coordination, which manifests upon O‐vacancy formation, and the artificial increase in TiO2 surface area.

Identifying the role of oxide supports in transition metal catalysis is critical toward our understanding of heterogeneous catalysis. The water-gas shift (WGS) reaction is a prototypical example where oxide support dictates catalytic activity, yet the cause for this remains uncertain. Herein, we show that a single descriptor—the equilibrium constant for hydroxyl formation—relates the WGS turnover frequency across disparate oxide supports. The dissimilar equilibrium constant, or oxophilicity, between early and late transition metals exemplify the utility of metal-support interfacial sites to circumvent adsorption-energy scaling restrictions, thereby providing bifunctional gains for the WGS reaction class. In relation, the equilibrium constant for hydroxyl formation is equivalent to the equilibrium constant for the formal heterolytic dissociation of hydrogen, and therefore, reflects the ability of the metal-support interface to participate in hydrogen heterolysis. The ubiquitous coexistence, yet divergent chemical behavior of homo- and heterolytically activated hydrogen renders oxide support identity central toward our understanding of hydrogenation catalysis.

Identifying the role of oxide supports in transition metal catalysis is critical toward our understanding of heterogeneous catalysis. The water-gas shift (WGS) reaction is a prototypical example where oxide support dictates catalytic activity, yet the cause for this remains uncertain. Herein, we show that a single descriptor—the equilibrium constant for hydroxyl formation—relates the WGS turnover frequency across disparate oxide supports. The dissimilar equilibrium constant, or oxophilicity, between early and late transition metals exemplify the utility of metal-support interfacial sites to circumvent adsorption-energy scaling restrictions, thereby providing bifunctional gains for the WGS reaction class. In relation, the equilibrium constant for hydroxyl formation is equivalent to the equilibrium constant for the formal heterolytic dissociation of hydrogen, and therefore, reflects the ability of the metal-support interface to participate in hydrogen heterolysis. The ubiquitous coexistence, yet divergent chemical behavior of homo- and heterolytically activated hydrogen renders oxide support identity central toward our understanding of hydrogenation catalysis.

Definitive experimental proof for catalytic pathways and active sites during the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction remains elusive. Herein, we combine spectroscopic, kinetic and computational analyses to address the decades-long mechanistic controversy by studying the reverse water-gas shift over Pd/Al2O3. Isotopic transient kinetic analysis established the minor role of the formate intermediate, whereas hydrogen titration experiments confirmed the intermediacy of carboxyl. The ability to decouple the parallel formate and carboxyl pathways led to the identification of a distinct active site that exhibits regio- and chemoselective hydrogen addition to CO2 to yield the carboxyl intermediate. The metastable active site is formed in situ, resulting in hydroxylation of the metal–support interface and electronic restructuring. Atomistic simulations of the active site electronic structure and mechanistic landscape provided a framework that is consistent with experimental observations. Our study highlights the dynamic creation of a coordinatively unsaturated metal site caused by substrate adsorption on an adjacent support site. Due to its importance, the water-gas shift reaction has been the subject of numerous studies; however, a unifying mechanistic picture has not yet emerged. Now, a combination of spectroscopic, kinetic and computational methods reveal the crucial role of carboxyl intermediate for this centuries-old process.