Elucidating the Structure of Surface Acid Sites on γ-Al2O3

Differential pair distribution function analysis was applied to resolve, with crystallographic detail, the structure of catalytic sites on the surface of nanoscale gamma-Al2O3. The structure was determined for a basic probe molecule, monomethylamine (MMA), bound at the minority Lewis acid sites. These active sites were found to be five-coordinate, forming distorted octahedra upon MMA binding. This approach could be applied to study the interaction of molecules at surfaces in dye-sensitized solar cells, nanoparticles, sensors, materials for waste remediation, and catalysts.