Catalytic Conversion of C1 Molecules on Atomically Precise Metal Nanoclusters

Metal nanoclusters with accurate compositions and precise crystalline structures hold remarkable attention in serving as a unique model catalyst for well-defined correlations between structure and catalytic activity. More importantly, these metal nanoclusters exhibit strong quantum confinement effects, which differ from their larger nanoparticles in a number of catalytic reactions. This review focuses on recent advances of atomically precise metal nanoclusters for C1 compound conversion (CO, CO2, CH4 , and HCOOH), including thermally-driven catalysis, photocatalysis, and electrocatalysis. The reaction mechanisms are discussed at an atomic- or even electron-level. It is anticipated that the progress in this research area could be extended to catalytic applications of metal nanoclusters in C1 chemistry.