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1. On-surface formation of metal–organic coordination networks with C⋯Ag⋯C and C=O⋯Ag interactions assisted by precursor self-assembly

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0038559  

   Schultz, Jeremy F.; Yang, Bing; Jiang, Nan (January 2021, The Journal of Chemical Physics)
2. “Covalent C-N Bond Formation through a Surface Catalyzed Thermal Cyclodehydrogenation,”

   https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.9b13507  

   Piskun, I.; Blackwell, R.; Jornet-Somoza, J.; Zhao, F. Z.; Rubio, A.; Louie, S. G.; Fischer, F. R. (January 2020, Journal of the American Chemical Society)
3. Surface Coating Structure and its Interaction with Cytochrome c in EG6 Coated Nanoparticles Varies with Surface Curvature

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c00681  

   Daly, Clyde A.; Allen, Caley R; Rozanov, Nikita D.; Chong, Gene; Melby, Eric S; Kuech, Thomas R.; Lohse, Samuel E.; Murphy, Catherine J.; Pedersen, Joel A.; Hernandez, Rigoberto (January 2020, Langmuir)

   The composition, orientation, and conformation of proteins in biomolecular coronas acquired by nanoparticles in biological media contribute to how they are identified by a cell. While numerous studies have investigated protein composition in biomolecular coronas, relatively little detail is known about how the nanoparticle surface influences the orientation and conformation of the proteins associated with them. We previously showed that the peripheral membrane protein cytochrome c adopts preferred poses relative to negatively charged MPA-AuNPs. Here, we employ molecular dynamics simulations and complementary experiments to establish that cytochrome c also assumes preferred poses upon association with nanoparticles functionalized with an uncharged ligand, and specifically ω-(1-mercaptounde-11-cyl)hexa(ethylene glycol) (EG6). We find that the display of the EG6 ligands is sensitive to the curvature of the surface—and consequently, the effective diameter of the nearly spherical nanoparticle core—which in turn affects the preferred poses of cytochrome c. 

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4. Surface basicity controls C–C coupling rates during carbon dioxide-assisted methane coupling over bifunctional Ca/ZnO catalysts

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d3cp00332a  

   Filardi, Leah R.; Yang, Feipeng; Guo, Jinghua; Kronawitter, Coleman X.; Runnebaum, Ron C. (April 2023, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   Carbon dioxide-assisted coupling of methane offers an approach to chemically upgrade two greenhouse gases and components of natural gas to produce ethylene and syngas. Prior research on this reaction has concentrated efforts on catalyst discovery, which has indicated that composites comprised of both reducible and basic oxides are especially promising. There is a need for detailed characterization of these bifunctional oxide systems to provide a more fundamental understanding of the active sites and their roles in the reaction. We studied the dependence of physical and electronic properties of Ca-modified ZnO materials on Ca content via X-ray photoelectron and absorption spectroscopies, electron microscopy, and infrared spectroscopic temperature-programmed desorption (IRTPD). It was found that introduction of only 0.6 mol% Ca onto a ZnO surface is necessary to induce significant improvement in the catalytic production of C2 species: C2 selectivity increases from 5% on unmodified ZnO to 58%, at similar conversions. Evidence presented shows that this selectivity increase resultsfrom the formation of an interface between the basic CaO and reducible ZnO phases. The basicity of these interface sites correlates directly with catalytic activity over a wide composition range, and this relationship indicates that moderate CO2 adsorption strength is optimal for CH4 coupling. These results demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, a volcano-type relationship between CO2-assisted CH4 coupling activity and catalyst surface basicity, which can inform further catalyst development. 

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5. Surface-catalyzed dehydrogenation and intermolecular C C bond formation at peripheral alkyl units on Cu(100) and Au(111)

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susc.2018.12.004  

   Williams, Christopher G.; Wang, Miao; Hopwood, Jonathan P.; Tempas, Christopher D.; Morris, Tobias W.; Wisman, David L.; Kesmodel, Larry L.; Ciszek, Jacob W.; Tait, Steven L. (May 2019, Surface Science)