Exploring Novel Catalysis Using Polymer-Stabilized Metal Clusters

Metal clusters composed of no more than one hundred metal atoms have the potential to exhibit novel catalysis that is unexpected from the corresponding bulk and nanoparticles. The emergence of cluster-specific properties is ascribed to the quantized electronic structures, unique geometrical packing, and structural fluxionality. Polymer-stabilized metal clusters provide ideal platforms for exploring new catalysis based on the chemical properties of naked model clusters and studying the correlation between structural parameters and intrinsic catalytic properties of metal clusters. In this article, we describe our recent efforts to explore novel catalysts using polymer-stabilized metal clusters. This article summarizes our recent works on the exploration of novel catalysis using polymer-stabilized metal clusters. The correlation between structural parameters and catalytic performances reported here will contribute to the development of the design principle for highly active and selective metal cluster catalysts.