The surface science of nanoparticles for catalysis: electronic and steric effects of organic ligands

Recent studies demonstrate the important roles of surface ligands in creating metal-organic interfaces that can significantly improve both catalytic activity as well as selectivity of chemically synthetized nanoparticle (NP) catalysts. Both steric and electronic effects can be efficiently used to tune catalytic properties of the NPs. Here, we overview the recent advancements in the field of the surface science of NPs for their catalytic applications and discuss the steric and electronic effects of ligands immobilized at the NP surface on the activity and selectivity of catalytically active NPs in different catalytic reactions.