Pt as a promising ethanol catalyst: a first principles study.

This first-principles study predicts Pt nanoparticles as a catalyst for ethanol reactions. Starting from the adsorption properties, we shed light on the effectiveness of Pt-based nanoclusters as ethanol catalysts. First, the ethanol adsorption on Pt shows that the most stable site positions the molecule with the oxygen anchored on top of an edge, whereas CH is oriented towards the facet and the molecule remains in -symmetry.