Selective CO2 conversion tuned by periodicities in Au8n+4(TBBT)4n+8 nanoclusters

The structure-dependent catalytic behavior is one of the most important issues in catalysis science. However, it has not been fully understood how different types of atom-packing structures of heterogeneous catalysts precisely impact the reaction sites and pathways. Here we investigate a periodic series of Au8n+4(TBBT)(4n+8) nanoclusters with layer-by-layer structural pattern to catalyze CO2 hydrogenation (where n = 3-6 is the number of (001) layers; TBBT = 4-tert-butyl-benzenethiolate). An encouraging evolution of CO2 conversion can be identified: The product selectivity from methanol, formic acid to ethanol can be switched by the structure-dependent deformation from the flattened, perfect, to elongated cuboids in Au8n+4(TBBT)(4n+8). Through a combined study of experiment and theory, we demonstrate that the variation in structural patterns of catalysts can exclusively tune their adsorption strength with reaction intermediates and further control the CO2 conversion toward the different products.