Oxygen Vacancies and Catalysis on Ceria Surfaces

摘要

Chemistry that occurs at the surfaces of metal oxides is critical in a variety of industrial applications including catalysis, optical display technology, solar energy devices, and corrosion prevention. Defects such as oxygen vacancies and step edgesare the most reactive sites on the surfaces of metal oxides. Understanding metal-oxide reactivity thus requires an understanding of the nature of surface oxygen vacancies, and their number, distribution, and diffusion across the surface. On page 752 of this issue, Esch and co-workers report an exciting study that clearly elucidates the structure, distribution, and formation of oxygen vacancies on a cerium oxide surface (1).