Robert Rioux 
Model Systems in Catalysis 
Single Crystals to Supported Enzyme Mimics

This book is an excellent compilation of cutting-edge research in heterogeneous catalysis and related disciplines – surface science, organometallic catalysis, and enzymatic catalysis. In 23 chapters by noted experts, the volume demonstrates varied approaches using model systems and their successes in understanding aspects of heterogeneous catalysis, both metal- and metal oxide-based catalysis in extended single crystal and nanostructured catalytic materials. To truly appreciate the astounding advances of modern heterogeneous catalysis, let us first consider the subject from a historical perspective. Heterogeneous catalysis had its beginnings in England and France with the work of scientists such as Humphrey Davy (1778–1829), Michael Faraday (1791–1867), and Paul Sabatier (1854–1941). Sabatier postulated that surface compounds, si- lar to those familiar in bulk to chemists, were the intermediate species leading to catalytic products. Sabatier proposed, for example, that Ni H moieties on a Ni sur- 2 face were able to hydrogenate ethylene, whereas Ni H was not. In the USA, Irving Langmuir concluded just the opposite, namely, that chemisorbed surface species are chemically bound to surfaces and are unlike known molecules. These chemisorbed species were the active participants in catalysis. The equilibrium between gas-phase molecules and adsorbed chemisorbed species (yielding an adsorption isotherm) produced a monolayer by simple site-filling kinetics.

Table of Content

Catalytic Chemistry of Hydrocarbon Conversion Reactions on Metallic Single Crystals.- Structure, Characterization and Reactivity of Pt–Sn Surface Alloys.- Catalysis at Bimetallic Electrochemical Interfaces.- Enantioselectivity on Naturally Chiral Metal Surfaces.- Chiral Expression by Organic Architectures at Metal Surfaces: the Role of Both Adsorbate and Surface in Inducing Asymmetry.- Role of C and P Sites on the Chemical Activity of Metal Carbides and Phosphides: From Clusters to Single-Crystal Surfaces.- Surface Reactions of Oxygen Containing Compounds on Metal Oxide (Ti O2 and UO2) Single Crystals.- Surface Science Studies of Strong Metal-Oxide Interactions on Model Catalysts.- Surface Thermodynamics: Small Molecule Adsorption Calorimetry on Metal Single Crystals.- Surface Femtochemistry.- The Incorporation of Added Metal Atoms into Structures of Reaction Intermediates on Catalytic Metal Surfaces.- Chemical Bonding on Metal Surfaces.- From Molecular Insights to Novel Catalysts Formulation.- The Reactivity of Gas-Phase Metal Oxide Clusters: Systems for Understanding the Mechanisms of Heterogeneous Catalysts.- Catalysis by Noble Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Thin-Oxide Films.- Catalysis by Supported Size-Selected Clusters.- Catalysis by Thin Oxide Films and Oxide Nanoparticles.- Catalysis with Transition Metal Nanoparticles in Colloidal Solution: Heterogeneous or Homogeneous?.- Well-Defined Metallic and Bimetallic Clusters Supported on Oxides and Zeolites.- A Convergence of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis: Immobilized Organometallic Catalysts.- Single-Site Heterogeneous Catalysts: Innovations, Advantages, and Future Potential in Green Chemistry and Sustainable Technology.- Molecular-Imprinted Metal Complexes for the Design of Catalytic Structures.- Heterogeneous Catalyst Design by Multiple Functional Group Positioning in Organic–Inorganic Materials: On the Route to Analogs of Multifunctional Enzymes.