Recent advances of bimetallic nanoclusters with atomic precision for catalytic applications

Abstract

Bimetallic nanocatalysts are broadly used for most of the industrial processes, while atomic and molecular level in-depth understanding of their correlation between structure and the corresponding catalytic performance is very challenging yet fundamental in catalysis. The recent progress of atomically precise metal nanoclusters demonstrated superior catalytic performance for many catalytic reactions. As a versatile strategy and due to the synergy effect between different metal elements, bimetallic nanoclusters (BNCs) may significantly enhance the catalytic performances compared with their corresponding monometallic nanoclusters, and thus benefit their catalytic applications. Furthermore, due to their definite structure and monodispersity, they can be used as model catalysts to unveil the atomic level structure-catalytic performance relationship of the bimetallic catalysts. The current review aims to summarize the most recent development of ligand protected BNCs with atomic precision for catalytic applications and provide potentially theoretical guidance for rationally design of catalysts with high catalytic performance. BNCs with atomic precision are discussed, and their structural properties, synthesis strategies, especially their catalytic applications are highlighted. Finally, the main challenges and prospects are provided, with continued efforts expected to achieve further exciting progress in tailoring the atomic-level active sites, and understand the catalytic mechanisms to aid the design of high-performance catalysts.