¹³C NMR Guides Rational Design of Nanocatalysts via Chemisorption Evaluation in Liquid Phase.

HETEROGENEOUS catalysis; NANOSTRUCTURED materials; CHEMISORPTION; CATALYSTS; NUCLEAR magnetic resonance spectroscopy; ADSORPTION (Chemistry); FORMIC acid; COLLOIDS; SUSPENSIONS (Chemistry)

The search for more efficient heterogeneous catalysts remains critical to the chemical industry. The Sabatier principle of maximizing catalytic activity by optimizing the adsorption energy of the Substrate molecule could offer pivotal guidance to otherwise random screenings. Here we show that the chemical shift value of an adsorbate (formic acid) on metal colloid catalysts measured by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in aqueous Suspension constitutes a simple experimental descriptor for adsorption strength. Avoiding direct contact between the 13C atom and the metal surface eliminates peak broadening that has confounded prior efforts to establish such correlations. The data can guide rational design of improved catalysts, as demonstrated here for the cases of formic acid decomposition and formic acid electro-oxidation reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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