(Selective carbon oxygen bond scission during reactions of oxygenates on single crystal catalysts)

We have discovered that the carbon-oxygen bond in methanol can be selectively broken if the surface structure of the platinum catalyst is appropriately tailored. The objective of this project is to determine if variations in surface structure allow one to selectively break C-O and C-H bonds. The decomposition of a wide range of oxygenates on several carefully chosen faces of group VIII metals will be examined to see when C-O bond scission occurs and what new chemistry we can find on stepped surfaces.