Determination of the Electronic Structure of Titania-Supported Metal Clusters
Abstract
Metal clusters are groups of metal atoms with sizes ranging between 2 and 100 atoms, possessing unique electronic and catalytic properties. This work aims to measure the valence electron density of states for titania-supported Ru3 clusters using the complimentary techniques UPS and metastable induced electron spectroscopy (MIES), and XPS will be used to determine the elemental composition. Ru clusters have been shown to be among the most active catalysts for industry-relevant reactions such as CO hydrogenation. Two approaches to cluster deposition will be compared. The first is vaporisation of ligand-protected Ru3(CO)12 clusters onto a titania substrate under ultra-high vacuum, and subsequent heat-removal of the CO ligands to leave the bare Ru3. The second is using a size-selected, laser ablation cluster source to deposit bare Ru3 directly onto the substrates. It is known that the properties of supported clusters can differ depending on the deposition method, however these two common methods have never been directly compared for these clusters.
Supported by the US army project FA5209-16-R-0017. We acknowledge the expertise, equipment, and support provided by the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility (AMMRF) and the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF).- Publication:
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APS March Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019APS..MARB32004H