Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study of Nano-Structured Polyatom-Substituted H4PW11M1O40 Keggin and H7P2W17M1O62 (M = Nb, Ta) Wells-Dawson Heteropolyacid Catalysts

Polyatom-substituted H4PW11M1O40 Keggin and H7P2W17M1O62 (M = Nb, Ta) Wells-Dawson heteropolyacid (HPA) catalysts were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and tunneling spectroscopy to elucidate their redox property and oxidation catalysis. STM images clearly showed that HPAs formed nano-structured monolayer arrays on graphite surface. In tunneling spectroscopy, HPAs exhibited a distinctive current-voltage behavior called negative differential resistance (NDR). NDR peak voltage of the HPAs was then correlated with reduction potential determined by electrochemical method in solution. NDR peak voltage of the HPAs appeared at less negative voltage with increasing reduction potential. Vapor-phase oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutyraldehyde to methacrolein was also carried out as a model reaction to probe oxidation catalysis of the HPAs. NDR peak voltage of the HPAs appeared at less negative voltage with increasing yield for methacrolein. NDR peak voltage could be utilized as a correlating parameter for the reduction potential and as a probe of oxidation catalysis in the oxidative dehydrogenation of isobutyraldehyde.