Prof. Lu Junling et al. (USTC) developed a new strategy of “site-selective blocking” via atomic layer deposition to disentangle these two effects. By further combining X-ray photoemission spectroscopy at the photoemission end-station (BL10B, HLS) and theoretical calculations, they showed that in Pd catalyzed aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol, the geometric effect dominates for the size of Pd particles greater than ~ 4 nm, whereas the electronic effect directs the smaller ones substantially. The geometric and electronic effects interplay and compete so intensively that both activity and selectivity showed in volcano trends on the Pd particle size unprecedentedly. This work was published in Science Advances [5(1):eaat6413 (2019)], further highlighted by Nano Today [25:5-6(2019)].
Benzaldehyde and toluene selectivity of Pd/Al2O3catalysts as a function of Pd particle size during aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol
