Enhanced oxygen binding through surface mediated ionic bonds

Palladium clusters deposited on TiO2 supports constitute important oxidation catalysts. Addition of O2 in presence of deposited palladium clusters results in dissociated O atoms whose binding strength controls the activity of a catalytic oxidation reaction. Here we demonstrate how the presence of even remote Pd sites can more than double the energy required to remove surface O atoms from a surface. This unusual increase in binding is shown to originate in a Coulomb interaction between Pdδ+ and Oδ− where the otherwise semiconducting support remains almost neutral acting to mediate a charge transfer from Pd to O sites. The O atoms supported on lattice Ti sites are further shown to form composite TiO motifs that can exchange sites with Pd atoms with a minimal energy, opening the pathway to Ti migration. This behavior is proposed to be linked to their identical valence pool containing d-states.