Experimental and theoretical studies reveal performance descriptors and provide molecular-level understanding of HCl oxidation over CeO2. Steady-state kinetics and characterization indicate that CeO2 attains a significant activity level, which is associated with the presence of oxygen vacancies. Calcination of CeO2 at 1173 K prior to reaction maximizes both the number of vacancies and the structural stability of the catalyst. Xray diffraction and electron microscopy of samples exposed to reaction feeds with different O2/HCl ratios provide evidence that CeO2 does not suffer from bulk chlorination in O2-rich feeds (O2/HCl ≥ 0.75), while it does form chlorinated phases in stoichiometric or sub-stoichiometric feeds (O2/HCl ≤ 0.25). Quantitative analysis of the chlorine uptake by thermogravimetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that chlorination under O2-rich conditions is limited to few surface and sub-surface layers of CeO2 particles, in line with the high energy computed for the transfer of Cl from surface to sub-surface positions. Exposure of chlorinated samples to a Deacon mixture with excess oxygen rapidly restores the original activity levels, highlighting the dynamic response of CeO2 outermost layers to feeds of different composition. Density functional theory simulations reveal that Cl activation from vacancy positions to surface Ce atoms is the most energy-demanding step, although chorineoxygen competition for the available active sites may render re-oxidation as the rate-determining step. The substantial and remarkably stable Cl2 production and the lower of CeO2 make it an attractive alternative to RuO2 for catalytic chlorine recycling in industry.

Density functional theory simulations including dispersion provide an atomistic description of the role of different compounds in the synthesis of gold-nanorods. Anisotropy is caused by the formation of a complex between the surfactant, bromine, and silver that preferentially adsorbs on some facets of the seeds, blocking them from further growth. In turn, the nanorod structure is driven by the perferential adsorption of the surfactant, which induces the appearance of open {520} lateral facets.

Periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations using plane waves have been performed to systematically investigate the adsorption and relative stability of ammonia and its dehydrogenated species on Pt(111) and Pt(100) surfaces. Different adsorption geometries and positions have been studied, and in each case, the equilibrium configuration has been determined by relaxation of the system. The vibrational spectra of the various ammonia fragments have been computed, and band assignments have been compared in detail with available experimental data. The adsorption of NH3 (on top) and NH2 (bridge) is more favorable on Pt(100) than on Pt(111), while similar adsorption energies were computed for NH (hollow) and N (hollow) on both surfaces. The remarkably lower adsorption energy of NH2 over Pt(111) as compared with Pt(100) (the difference being approximately 0.7 eV) can be related to different geometric and electronic factors associated with this particular intermediate. Accordingly, the type of platinum surface determines the most stable NH(x) fragment: Pt(100) has more affinity for NH2 species, whereas NH species are preferred over Pt(111).

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Density functional theory simulations were used to study the mechanism of ammonia oxidation over Pt(100). The conversion of NH 3 leading to NH x intermediates upon reaction with adsorbed oxygen-containing species and ultimately forming reaction products (NO, N 2 O, N 2 , and H 2 O), have been systematically computed. The reaction proceeds via an imide mechanism, while classical mechanisms postulating nitroxyl and hydroxylamine as reaction intermediates may be excluded. The barriers of oxidative NH 3 dehydrogenation over Pt(100) are drastically decreased with respect to the nonoxidative dehydrogenation, particularly when the number of hydrogen atoms in the NH x fragment is decreased. Ammonia activation and subsequent NH x dehydrogenation steps are greatly favored by O ads with respect to OH ads on Pt(100). This differs from calculations on Pt(111) due to the metal sharing effect and to the lower stability of adsorbed hydroxyl in the latter facet. Nitrogencontaining products are formed by recombination of chemisorbed N with N (N 2 ), O (NO), and NO (N 2 O). Water is formed via recombination of adsorbed OH, regenerating an active O. The O-mediated abstraction of the first proton of NH 3 is the slowest dehydrogenation step, whereas NO desorption determines the rate of the overall process. Rate coefficients of the elementary steps involved in the mechanism have been calculated, enabling a microkinetic analysis of the reaction. Our simplified model predicts reasonably well the product distribution obtained experimentally at different temperature, time, and NH 3 /O 2 ratio.