Pure Metal Clusters with Atomic Precision for Nanomanufacturing

Abstract

Advances in cluster science have enabled the preparation of atomically precise metal clusters with one to a hundred atoms under controllable expansion conditions. After introducing typical gas-phase cluster preparation and reaction apparatuses, this work summarized recent progress in preparing pure metal clusters of single-atom resolution, including neutral and ionic ones, with typical examples of Al, V, Nb, Fe, Co, Ni, Rh, Pt, Ag, Cu, and Pb. With the development of soft-landing deposition technology, the size-selective pure metal clusters with strict atomic precision and predictive property will benefit nanomanufacturing down to atomic and near-atomic scales. This work serves as a modest motivation to stimulate the interest of scientists focusing on interdisciplinary subjects.

Elucidation of single atom catalysts for energy and sustainable chemical production: Synthesis, characterization and frontier science

“…9). To-date, since this method is capable of providing exact tuning and control of the size of metal deposited on the support surface, it has been employed in a couple of SAC works for generating fundamental insights [13,233]. For example, to study the impact of Pt atom number on electrochemical catalysis, Weber and co-workers [234] have synthesized Pt n /Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) catalysts (1 = n ≤ 14) using the mass-selected soft-landing method.…”

Catalysis of dinitrogen activation and reduction by a single Fe13 cluster and its doped systems

“…Further, clusters may serve as ideal catalyst candidates with unique advantages compared to traditional metal catalysts due to more active metal sites and higher atomic utilization. [31][32][33][34][35] In particular, their well-defined geometric structures and distinct electronic configurations enable both experimental and theoretical studies to clarify the catalytic reaction mechanism and selectivity. 36,37 Moreover, cluster catalysts may exhibit higher stability and fantastic synergistic effect compared with single-atom catalysts (SACs).…”