Characterization and reactivity of oxygen-centred radicals over transition metal oxide clusters

We introduce chemical structures and reactivity of oxygen-centred radicals (O(-)˙) over transition metal oxide (TMO) clusters based on mass spectrometric and density functional theory studies. Two main issues will be discussed: (1) the compositions of TMO clusters that have the bonding characteristics of (or contain) the O(-)˙ radicals; and (2) the dependences (cluster structures, sizes, charge states, metal types, etc.) of the chemical reactivity and selectivity for the O(-)˙ radicals over TMO clusters. One of the goals of cluster chemistry is to understand the elementary reactions involved with complex heterogeneous catalysis. The study of the O(-)˙ containing TMO clusters permits rather detailed descriptions for how mono-nuclear oxygen-centred radicals may exist and react with small molecules over TMO based catalysts.