Model Systems in Catalysis: Single Crystals to Supported Enzyme Mimics

This book is an excellent compilation of cutting-edge research in heterogeneous catalysis and related disciplines – surface science, organometallic catalysis, and enzymatic catalysis. In 23 chapters by noted experts, the volume demonstrates varied approaches using model systems and their successes in understanding aspects of heterogeneous catalysis, both metal- and metal oxide-based catalysis in extended single crystal and nanostructured catalytic materials. To truly appreciate the astounding advances of modern heterogeneous catalysis, let us first consider the subject from a historical perspective. Heterogeneous catalysis had its beginnings in England and France with the work of scientists such as Humphrey Davy (1778–1829), Michael Faraday (1791–1867), and Paul Sabatier (1854–1941). Sabatier postulated that surface compounds, si- lar to those familiar in bulk to chemists, were the intermediate species leading to catalytic products. Sabatier proposed, for example, that NiH moieties on a Ni sur- 2 face were able to hydrogenate ethylene, whereas NiH was not. In the USA, Irving Langmuir concluded just the opposite, namely, that chemisorbed surface species are chemically bound to surfaces and are unlike known molecules. These chemisorbed species were the active participants in catalysis. The equilibrium between gas-phase molecules and adsorbed chemisorbed species (yielding an adsorption isotherm) produced a monolayer by simple site-filling kinetics.

Researchers in catalysis and surface science will find this book to be an invaluable compendium of material on the preparation, characterization, and investigation of model catalyst systems, including single sites, supported and unsupported clusters, and single crystals of metal, metal alloys, and metal oxides. The connections made between heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis are particularly welcome.

--Alexis T. Bell, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

This is a superb collection of papers covering the latest developments in the use of models in fundamental catalytic science. It is a valuable addition to the libraries of those interested in the fundamentals of surface-catalyzed reactions.

--D. Wayne Goodman, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University

This is a comprehensive collection of the development of surface science over the last four decades. The book proves that the era of oversimplified model systems is over; the dynamics of materials and reactions is now accessible for rigorous experimental and theoretical study. The book is an invaluable, authoritative source of information both for the surface scientist and the catalysis practitioner.

--Robert Schlögl, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max-Planck-Society, Berlin, Germany

This book is an important resource for anyone interested in the latest advances in catalysis. It contains contributions from leaders in the field, and addresses issues related to mechanism, characterization, and selectivity. A wide range of new catalyst design principles is introduced, within the context of chiral surfaces for enantioselective reactions, novel catalyst compositions and structures, well-defined, single site catalytic centers, and the influence of nanostructures on catalytic performance.

--T. Don Tilley, Department of Chemistry, University of California,Berkeley