Nanoparticle Shape Selectivity in Catalysis: Butene Isomerization and Hydrogenation on Platinum

New advances in colloidal and other self-assembly synthetic methods have afforded the controlled growth of nanoparticles with well-defined sizes and shapes. Recently, the catalysis community has been trying to capitalize on this knowledge for the design of new catalytic processes. In particular, the use of metal nanoparticles with specific shapes has been explored in several instances as a way to control reaction selectivity. Here we review the results from our efforts to use platinum nanoparticles dispersed on high-surface-area supports to perform selective olefin conversions. Emphasis is given to the surface-science experiments and quantum-mechanics calculations that led us to identify potential variations in selectivity in carbon-carbon double-bond isomerization and hydrogenation reactions with the structure of the metal surface. Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy data for 2-butenes adsorbed on Pt(111) single-crystal surfaces highlighted the relative higher stability of adsorbed cis-2-butene compared to trans-2-butene and the preference for the promotion of trans-to-cis conversions on that surface. It was also determined that coadsorbed hydrogen plays a key role in defining the relative stabilities of the adsorbates, favoring pi rather than di-sigma bonding and reversing the higher stability of the trans adsorbates seen on clean Pt(111). DFT calculations suggested that such unique results may be accounted for by the need for extensive surface reconstruction to accommodate the adsorbates on such flat planes, a requirement that appears to be less severe with the cis isomer. TPD experiments on stepped Pt(557) surfaces pointed to the minimal importance of steps in promoting these isomerization reactions, although they do seem to help with the full hydrogenation to the alkanes. More extensive olefin adsorption destabilization with hydrogen coadsorption and faster alkane production was seen on Pt(100), but selectivity towards the cis isomer was still identified. On the more open (2 x 1)-reconstructed Pt(110) surface, on the other hand, trans-2-butene is the most stable of the two isomers. It was finally shown that these surface-science results translate into changes in selectivity in real catalysts with platinum nanoparticle shape. Catalysts were prepared by using colloidal Pt nanoparticles with tetrahedral, cubic, and rounded shapes, and unique selectivity toward cis-2-butene formation was measured on the first of those samples. It appears that the (111) facets exposed by the tetrahedral Pt nanoparticles do show the same trans-to-cis conversion preference in catalysis seen in the surface-science studies carried out with single-crystal surfaces and under ultrahigh vacuum conditions.