Ethylene oxide is a key platform chemical that is produced industrially from the epoxidation of ethylene on silver catalysts, but the precise mechanism remains elusive. Now, in a joint computational–experimental effort, a phase of the silver catalyst grown on (100) facets that contains square-pyramidal subsurface oxygens and is stabilized by strongly adsorbed ethylene is identified as the active phase, and the mechanism is revealed.
- Dongxiao Chen
- Lin Chen
- Zhi-Pan Liu