Scalable synthesis of Cu clusters for remarkable selectivity control of intermediates in consecutive hydrogenation

Subnanometric Cu clusters that contain only a small number of atoms exhibit unique and, often, unexpected catalytic behaviors compared with Cu nanoparticles and single atoms. However, due to the high mobility of Cu species, scalable synthesis of stable Cu clusters is still a major challenge. Herein, we report a facile and practical approach for scalable synthesis of stable supported Cu cluster catalysts. This method involves the atomic diffusion of Cu from the supported Cu nanoparticles to CeO2 at a low temperature of 200 degrees C to form stable Cu clusters with tailored sizes. Strikingly, these Cu clusters exhibit high yield of intermediate product (95%) in consecutive hydrogenation reactions due to their balanced adsorption of the intermediate product and dissociation of H-2. The scalable synthesis strategy reported here makes the stable Cu cluster catalysts one step closer to practical semi-hydrogenation applications. Scalable synthesis of stable Cu clusters for heterogeneous catalysis is still a major challenge. Here the authors report a low-temperature atomic diffusion approach for synthesis of stable Cu cluster catalysts, which exhibit high yield of intermediate product in consecutive hydrogenation reactions.

Automated summary

The authors present a facile method for scalable synthesis of stable supported Cu cluster catalysts by atomic diffusion of Cu from supported Cu nanoparticles to CeO2 at a low temperature. The resulting Cu clusters exhibit high yield of intermediate product in consecutive hydrogenation reactions due to their balanced adsorption and dissociation abilities. This scalable synthesis strategy brings stable Cu cluster catalysts closer to practical semi-hydrogenation applications.