Prominent hydrogenation catalysis of a PVP-stabilized Au₃₄ superatom provided by doping a single Rh atom

Abstract

A single rhodium atom was precisely doped into a gold cluster Au34 stabilized by poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (Au:PVP) as revealed by mass spectrometry. The Rh-atom-doped Au:PVP exhibited remarkable catalytic activity for hydrogenation reactions of olefins, which was much higher than that of recently reported Pd-atom-doped Au:PVP.