Interfacial chemistry and supported catalysts preparation

The synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts, exemplified by supported transition metals, is a field of investigation where a constant dialogue is taking place between the macroscopic level (industrial preparation procedures) and the molecular level (illustrated here by a discussion of adsorption mechanisms during the metal deposition step). Interesting problems arising from the molecular view of catalyst preparation are, e.g., the possibility of interfacial molecular recognition on metal deposition, or the control of interfacial kinetics. Studies of the initial steps of supported catalysts preparation has practical significance because of memory effects: the final state of the working catalyst is still influenced by the conditions of initial deposition, as illustrated by the example of Pt-WOx/Al2O3.