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Identification of the active sites in supported subnanometric metal catalysts

Nature Catalysis volume 4, pages 453–456 (2021)Cite this article

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Identifying the active sites in supported catalysts comprising isolated metal atoms and subnanometric clusters is challenging because of the difficulty in obtaining detailed structural information under reaction conditions. Here, we discuss the limitations and pitfalls that may be encountered and provide suggestions accordingly.

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Fig. 1: Illustration of different types of supported metal catalysts.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for financial support from the Spanish government through the ‘Severo Ochoa Program’ (SEV-2016-0683).

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Author notes

  1. Lichen Liu

    Present address: Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Tecnología Química, Universitat Politècnica de València-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UPV-CSIC), Valencia, Spain

    Lichen Liu & Avelino Corma

Authors
  1. Lichen Liu
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  2. Avelino Corma
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L.L. and A.C. wrote this Comment together.

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Correspondence to Avelino Corma.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Liu, L., Corma, A. Identification of the active sites in supported subnanometric metal catalysts. Nat Catal 4, 453–456 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-021-00632-y

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