Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.121, No.13, 3214-3217, 1999
Catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide on monodispersed platinum clusters: Each atom counts
Nanoclusters open fascinating opportunities for quantum engineering because quantum-size effects become dominant in determining catalytic,(1-3) optical,(4) electronic,(5) and magnetic(6) properties. We succeeded in the controlled production of low-energy and high-flux monodispersed cluster beams, which allow for a systematic study of their reactivity after deposition onto a chemically inert substrate. We investigated the catalytic reaction that is the oxidation of CO on platinum and observed a distinct atom by atom size dependency for monodispersed platinum clusters on thin MgO(100) films. These results clearly show that the efficiency of a heterogeneous catalytic reaction can be tuned by the judicious choice of particle size.