Catalysts 2013, 3(1), 276-287; doi:10.3390/catal3010276
Article

Defect-Driven Restructuring of TiO2 Surface and Modified Reactivity Toward Deposited Gold Atoms

Kenneth Park 1,* email, Vincent Meunier 2 email, Minghu Pan 3 email and Ward Plummer 4 email
1 Department of Physics, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA 2 Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA 3 Center of Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37831, USA 4 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 11 January 2013; in revised form: 17 February 2013 / Accepted: 19 February 2013 / Published: 8 March 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Gold Catalysts)
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Abstract: A partially reduced TiO2 surface exhibits increasingly complex nature when forming various defects, whose stoichiometry, structure and properties are markedly different from those of bulk TiO2. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory, we investigate different types of surface defects formed by Ti interstitials on TiO2 (110) and their reactivity toward deposited gold atoms. Sub-stoichiometric strands greatly enhance bonding of Au by transferring the excess charges from the reduced Ti3+ onto the strands. Thus the sub-stoichiometric strands behave as strong electron donor sites toward reactants. On the contrary, fully stoichiometric nanoclusters provide increased Au bonding through its 1-coordinated oxygen, which acts as a strong electron acceptor site. Specific interactions between Au and defects as well as the implication of electron donor/acceptor complexes for catalytic reactions are discussed.
Keywords: TiO2; gold nanoclusters; STM; DFT

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MDPI and ACS Style

Park, K.; Meunier, V.; Pan, M.; Plummer, W. Defect-Driven Restructuring of TiO2 Surface and Modified Reactivity Toward Deposited Gold Atoms. Catalysts 2013, 3, 276-287.

AMA Style

Park K, Meunier V, Pan M, Plummer W. Defect-Driven Restructuring of TiO2 Surface and Modified Reactivity Toward Deposited Gold Atoms. Catalysts. 2013; 3(1):276-287.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Park, Kenneth; Meunier, Vincent; Pan, Minghu; Plummer, Ward. 2013. "Defect-Driven Restructuring of TiO2 Surface and Modified Reactivity Toward Deposited Gold Atoms." Catalysts 3, no. 1: 276-287.

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