Dr. Konrad Koszinowski vom Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, USA erhält den Schering Preis 2003 für seine Forschungsarbeit zu „Gaseous platinum clusters-versatile models for heterogeneous catalysts“.

„Gaseous platinum clusters-versatile models for heterogeneous catalysts“

Cationic platinum clusters are proposed as models for heterogeneous catalysts. In the gas-phase, the reactivity of the cluster ions can be thoroughly investigated by means of Fourier-transform ion-cyclotron-resonance mass spectrometry.

The reactions of Ptm+ clusters, m – 5, with several simple substrates exhibit distinct similarities to the analogous processes of heterogeneous catalysts. Encouraged by the thus demonstrated validity of the model approach chosen, methane activation by Ptm+ clusters is studied in detail. Kinetic isotope effects associated with dehydrogenation, hydrogen-deuterium exchange processes, and energy-dependent collision-induced dissociation experiments provide insight into the potential-energy surfaces of the surprisingly complex Ptm+/CH4 systems. The main difference between mononuclear platinum carbene PtCH2+ and the larger homologues PtmCH2+ concerns the interaction of carbon with more than a single metal center in the case of the clusters.