Role of Magnetism in Catalysis: RuO₂ (110) Surface

Abstract

Angular momentum seems to not be conserved in chemical reactions where one of the reactants is magnetic; consequently, such reactions show a high activation barrier. An example is the production of hydrogen by electrolysis of water: practically all losses occur in the production of (magnetic) oxygen. Anodes with a low overvoltage (a measure of the losses) are based on the ruthenium dioxide (110) surface. First-principles electronic structure calculations show that this surface itself carries magnetic moments. This magnetic surface enables the production of oxygen in the ground state while conserving angular momentum.

Two-Dimensional Hydrous Silica: Nanosheets and Nanotubes Predicted from First-Principles Simulations

“…45,46 Therefore, this type of hydrous silica sheets deserves further experimental and theoretical investigations. For example, one may deposit the hydrous silica sheets onto nanocrystals (NCs) to reach the ultimate goal of atomic coating by means of suitable sol-gel approaches.…”

Chirality – Beyond the Structural Effects

“…Nevertheless, the detailed mechanism underlying the O−O bond formation remains unresolved . Although spin is rarely discussed in works exploring artificial photosynthesis, recent theoretical studies suggest that the overpotential required to split water is linked to restrictions on the electrons’ spin in generating a ground state triplet oxygen molecule ,. In a recent experimental work, it has been shown that when the anode in the water‐splitting cell is coated with chiral molecules, the overpotential is reduced …”

Determination of oxygen diffusion kinetics during thin film ruthenium oxidation

“…Ruthenium oxide (RuO 2 ) presents several attractive properties such as low resistivity, 1 high thermal stability, 2 good diffusion barrier capability, 3 excellent catalytic performance, 4,5 and easy patterning. 6 These interesting properties can make RuO 2 a suitable candidate for a large number of applications.…”