The utilization of atomically dispersed catalysts (ADCs) is renowned for its ability tomaximize metal efficiency and provide well-defined catalytic sites with increased uniformity.
Although these advantages are commonly cited in the literature, a thorough
investigation into the nature of these catalytic sites is imperative to comprehend their
homogeneity and account for potential minority contributions. Typically, techniques
such as scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and x-ray absorption
spectroscopy (XAS), along with additional methods like infrared spectroscopy (IR),
are employed to study ADCs. While XAS is crucial for probing the local coordination
environment, conventional analyses tools often yield averaged information rather
than accurate specifics about these sites. Therefore, the development of methods that
combine computational approaches with XAS becomes crucial for a comprehensive
understanding of well-defined catalytic sites like ADCs, allowing for a more realistic
assessment of their nature.
This project addresses a significant knowledge gap within the XAS literature by aiming
to bridge the gap between the computational catalysis and experimental XAS
communities. The outcome of my Ph.D. thesis work, the development of the Quant-
EXAFS method, serves as a significant contribution in bridging this gap. As the name
suggests, QuantEXAFS is an automated tool designed for the quantitative analysis of
EXAFS data, leveraging quantum chemistry tools such as density functional theory
(DFT). This method was tested on various atomically dispersed catalysts, including
platinum, and palladium supported on MgO, molybdenum, and platinum supported
on zeolites (ZSM-5). Ongoing studies involve applying QuantEXAFS to analyze reduced
samples of atomically dispersed catalysts. This method not only eliminates
user bias from conventional EXAFS fitting, thereby adding robustness to the approach,
but it also facilitates fitting multiple scattering paths to longer ranges in
R-space. QuantEXAFS has proven instrumental in identifying the true nature of
catalytic sites by attributing realistic structures to experimental observations. This
valuable information can be fed back into reaction barrier calculations and compared
with experimentally observed results, such as apparent activation energy.
Moreover, QuantEXAFS extends its utility to quantify site heterogeneities in catalytic
samples, we denote the name multi-site (MS) QuantEXAFS to this method.
The incorporation of ab initio calculations into QuantEXAFS enables the theoretical
calculation of Debye–Waller factors and facilitates their comparison. This enhancement
contributes to the development of a comprehensive workflow for fitting EXAFS
data, rendering it a more rigorous and accurate probe, particularly in the analysis
of well-defined materials like atomically dispersed catalysts (ADCs).