New types of dilute alloys

In IMASC 2.0,new types of alloys are under investigation because of their potential for enhancing reactivity and selectivity due to their dual functionality. The research generalizes our prior work through the study of important classes of reactions on alloys comprised of Ag or Au as the majority component with judiciously chosen Group VIIIB minority components, such as Ni, Pd, and Pt. A new direction in IMASC 2.0, interwoven throughout the study of oxidation and hydrogenation, is to unearth the effect of complex metal/oxide interfaces.  These interface effects will be understood both by investigating metal oxide islands on single-crystal Ag or Au and support-free alloy catalysts as well as studying alloy nanoparticles embedded in porous oxide networks. We seek to determine the optimal surface compositions and structures, including the distribution of the minority metals under reaction conditions, for specific reactions selected because of their far-reaching importance in chemical production. The work aims to provide a foundation to fully understand the function of alloy catalysts, inspired by prior work and driven by the need for a deeper understanding of how to quantitatively predict selectivity.