Surface organometallic and coordination chemistry approach to formation of single site heterogeneous catalysts

Surface Organometallic Chemistry (SOMC), an approach to generate molecularly defined surface sites on solids, has opened possibilities to understand heterogeneous catalysis with atomic-level precision. Treating the surface of traditional supports as defined (albeit complex) ligands and applying the rules of molecular inorganic chemistry allowed for formation of countless examples of well-defined surface moieties, some of which were shown to display remarkable catalytic performances for variety of chemical transformations, surpassing their homogeneous analogs, and behaving as single-site catalysts. Additionally, the ability to precisely design the coordination environment of the metal center brought us closer to elucidation of the nature of active sites in more complex industrial catalysts. The aim of this article is to familiarize the reader with the logic behind and the techniques involved in the SOMC approach. We will begin by outlining the complexity of heterogeneous catalysis and how SOMC enters its realm, followed by description of the methodology and its defining features. Finally, we will discuss some of the success stories in using SOMC approach in single-site heterogeneous catalysis.