Heterogeneous Iridium Single-Atom Molecular-like Catalysis for Epoxidation of Ethylene

Developing efficient and simple catalysts to reveal the key scientific issues in the epoxidation of ethylene has been a long-standing goal for chemists, whereas a heterogenized molecular-like catalyst is desirable which combines the best aspects of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Single-atom catalysts can effectively mimic molecular catalysts on account of their well-defined atomic structures and coordination environments. Herein, we report a strategy for selective epoxidation of ethylene, which exploits a heterogeneous catalyst comprising iridium single atoms to interact with the reactant molecules that act analogously to ligands, resulting in molecular-like catalysis. This catalytic protocol features a near-unity selectivity (99%) to produce value-added ethylene oxide. We investigated the origin of the improvement of selectivity for ethylene oxide for this iridium single-atom catalyst and attributed the improvement to the π-coordination between the iridium metal center with a higher oxidation state and ethylene or molecular oxygen. The molecular oxygen adsorbed on the iridium single-atom site not only helps to strengthen the adsorption of ethylene molecule by iridium but also alters its electronic structure, allowing iridium to donate electrons into the double bond π* orbitals of ethylene. This catalytic strategy facilitates the formation of five-membered oxametallacycle intermediates, leading to the exceptionally high selectivity for ethylene oxide. Our model of single-atom catalysts featuring remarkable molecular-like catalysis can be utilized as an effective strategy for inhibiting the overoxidation of the desired product. Implementing the concepts of homogeneous catalysis into heterogeneous catalysis would provide new perspectives for the design of new advanced catalysts.