Striking Size and Doping Effects of Ti−Si−O Clusters on Methane Conversion Reactions

Abstract The size and doping effects in methane activation by Ti−Si−O clusters have been explored by using a combination of gas‐phase experiments and quantum chemical calculations. All [Ti m Si n O 2( m + n ) ] .+ ( m + n =2, 3, 8, 10, 12, 14) clusters can extract a hydrogen from methane. The associated energies and structures have been revealed in detail. Moreover, the doping and size effects have been discussed involving generalized Kohn‐Sham energy decomposition analysis, natural population analysis, Wiberg bond indexes (WBI), molecular polarity index (MPI) and ionization potential (IP). It suggested that Ti−Si−O clusters with a low Ti : Si ratio is beneficial to adsorbing methane and inclination to the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) process, while the clusters with a high Ti : Si ratio favors the generation of a terminal oxygen radical and results in high reactivity and turnover frequency. On the other hand, a cluster size of m + n =12 is recommended considering both the ionization potential and the turnover frequency of the reaction. Hopefully, these finding will be instructive for the design of high‐performance Ti−Si−O catalyst toward methane conversion.