Organometallic interactions between metal nanoparticles and carbon-based molecules: A surface reactivity rationale

Metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs) have been widely used as catalysts in different types of chemical transformations, taking advantage of their intrinsic properties, such as geometry, specific surface area, sites (edges, corners, faces, kinks, steps…) and electronic configuration, which offer a wide-ranging variety of interactions with the reagents and products of catalytic processes. In addition, both the nature of the metal and the support (often MNPs are supported on solids or immobilized in liquid phases) play a crucial role in their catalytic behavior and plausible recycling. Nevertheless, research works reporting on the organometallic interactions at the metal surface are much more limited, often due to the difficulty of accessing to convenient experimental techniques. In this contribution, an overview from an organometallic point of view is presented regarding the interactions of organic compounds (reactants or products) at the surface of metal nanoparticles based on experimental data and calculations, helping to establish structure-reactivity correlations.