Metal and metal oxide sub nano cluster; emerging aspirant for catalytic applications

Abstract

The usage of catalysis at the articulation is growing in a variety of industries, including the chemical industry and the production of valuable compounds. For the swiftly developing fields of energy generation and storage, the fabrication of a highly effective, reliable, and selective catalyst with the replacement of noble metals by the harmless yet helpful to the economy transition metal is very desirable. Reducing metal particle size to the subnanometer level is a crucial strategy for increasing activity per mass of metal. Because of this, sub-nanometer metal oxide clusters are becoming more significant materials, employed in a variety of catalytic processes as well as electronic devices like sensors. The current thorough literature study and rigorous assessment work emphasises the significance of sub-nanometer-sized clusters of various metals and metal oxides in the development of effective and reasonably priced methods to the various catalytic reactions. However, because of their great mobility and agglomerative nature, sub-nanoscale clusters continue to provide a significant challenge to synthesis chemists. The various sub-nano clusters and the advancements in their catalytic applications with regard to particle size are summarised here in the provided review. The current review article may pave the way for a more reliable design of a noble catalyst at the sub-nanoscale by allowing us to critically assess the structure–activity relationship and obtain the necessary catalytic efficiency.