Synthesis of Fully Exposed Single‐Atom‐Layer Metal Clusters on 2D Ordered Mesoporous TiO2 Nanosheets

Abstract

AbstractA sulfhydryl monomicelles interfacial assembly strategy is presented for the synthesis of fully exposed single‐atom‐layer Pt clusters on 2D mesoporous TiO2 (SAL‐Pt@mTiO2) nanosheets. This synthesis features the introduction of the sulfhydryl group in monomicelles to finely realize the controllable co‐assembly process of Pt precursors within ordered mesostructures. The resultant SAL‐Pt@mTiO2 shows uniform SAL Pt clusters (≈1.2 nm) anchored in ultrathin 2D nanosheets (≈7 nm) with a high surface area (139 m2 g−1), a large pore size (≈25 nm) and a high dispersion (≈99 %). Moreover, this strategy is universal for the synthesis of other SAL metal clusters (Pd and Au) on 2D mTiO2 with high exposure and accessibility. When used as a catalyst for hydrogenation of 4‐nitrostyrene, the SAL‐Pt@mTiO2 shows a high catalytic activity (TOF up to 2424 h−1), 100 % selectivity for 4‐aminostyrene, good stability, and anti‐resistance to thiourea poisoning under relatively mild conditions (25 °C, 10 bar).