A review. Topics covered include: chem. reactions on point defects of oxide surfaces and chem. reactions and catalytic processes on free and supported clusters. Size-selected clusters in the gas-phase and supported on solid surfaces reveal distinct and atom- by atom size-dependent chem. properties, which differ in many ways from those of their bulk analogs. The efficiencies and branching ratios of chem. reactions can be changed by cluster size and the presented examples showed that the cluster's electronic structure is most decisive for the evolution of the chem. properties with size. In addn., the support material and the existing defects can alter the intrinsic cluster properties in a drastic manner. The key factors are charging effects and the change in the cluster's structure upon interaction with the support material. These observations may suggest that small clusters may also be relevant in catalysis. [on SciFinder(R)]     «

A review. Topics covered include: chem. reactions on point defects of oxide surfaces and chem. reactions and catalytic processes on free and supported clusters. Size-selected clusters in the gas-phase and supported on solid surfaces reveal distinct and atom- by atom size-dependent chem. properties, which differ in many ways from those of their bulk analogs. The efficiencies and branching ratios of chem. reactions can be changed by cluster size and the presented examples showed that the cluster's...     »