Significance of the Mn-Oxidation State in Catalytic and Noncatalytic Promotional Effects of MnOx Domains in Formic Acid Dehydrogenation on Pd/MnOx Interfaces

The influence of MnOx overlayers/nanoclusters deposited on the Pd(111) single-crystal model catalyst surface on the catalytic dehydrogenation of double-deuterated formic acid (FA, DCOOD) was studied under ultrahigh vacuum conditions via temperature-programmed desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. A significant boost in D-2 generation was observed in the catalytic FA dehydrogenation on MnOx/Pd(111) as compared to that of a clean Pd(111) model catalyst, demonstrating the cooperative interaction between Pd(111) and MnOx sites. Maximum FA conversion was observed at a submonolayer MnOx surface coverage of 0.25 ML (monolayer) on Pd(111), whereas D-2 formation was found to be suppressed when the Pd(111) surface was entirely covered with relatively thick (15 ML) MnOx overlayers. A direct correlation between increasing relative abundance of oxidized Mn surface states (i.e., Mn2+, Mn3+, and Mn4+) and increasing catalytic FA dehydrogenation was observed. Different modes of promotion of FA dehydrogenation via MnOx (i.e., catalytic promotion versus noncatalytic/stoichiometric promotion) were discussed as a function of the differences in the model catalyst preparation and the extent of oxidation of the MnOx overlayer.