Atom by atom built subnanometer copper cluster catalyst for the highly selective oxidative dehydrogenation of cyclohexene.

The effect of particle size and support on the catalytic performance of supported subnanometer copper clusters was investigated in the oxidative dehydrogenation of cyclohexene. From among the investigated seven size-selected subnanometer copper particles between a single atom and clusters containing 2-7 atoms, the highest activity was observed for the titania-supported copper tetramer with 100% selectivity toward benzene production and being about an order of magnitude more active than not only all the other investigated cluster sizes on the same support but also the same tetramer on the other supports, AlO, SiO, and SnO. In addition to the profound effect of cluster size on activity and with Cu outstanding from the studied series, Cu clusters supported on SiO provide an example of tuning selectivity through support effects when this particular catalyst also produces cyclohexadiene with about 30% selectivity. Titania-supported Cu and Cu clusters supported on TiO produce a high fraction of cyclohexadiene in contrast to their neighbors, while Cu and Cu solely produce benzene without any combustion, thus representing odd-even oscillation of selectivity with the number of atoms in the cluster.