title: Stabilization of copper catalysts for liquid-phase reactions by atomic layer deposition.
abstract: Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of an alumina overcoat can stabilize a base metal catalyst (e.g., copper) for liquid-phase catalytic reactions (e.g., hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural in alcoholic solvents or water), thereby eliminating the deactivation of conventional catalysts by sintering and leaching. This method of catalyst stabilization alleviates the need to employ precious metals (e.g., platinum) in liquid-phase catalytic processing. The alumina overcoat initially covers the catalyst surface completely. By using solid state NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy, it was shown that high temperature treatment opens porosity in the overcoat by forming crystallites of γ-Al2 O3 . Infrared spectroscopic measurements and scanning tunneling microscopy studies of trimethylaluminum ALD on copper show that the remarkable stability imparted to the nanoparticles arises from selective armoring of under-coordinated copper atoms on the nanoparticle surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (USA).
authors.forename: Brandon J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: David H K
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Crisci
authors.forename: Carrie A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Farberow
authors.forename: Fengyuan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Ana C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Alba-Rubio
authors.forename: Junling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: Xiangkui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Christopher L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Stair
authors.forename: Jeffrey W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Elam
authors.forename: Jeffrey T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Fabio H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Voyles
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Greeley
authors.forename: Manos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mavrikakis
authors.forename: Susannah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Kuech
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dumesic
keywords: atomic layer deposition; biomass; catalyst stability; copper; hydrogenation