CATALYTIC C-H BOND ACTIVATION ON SILICON DIOXIDE OVERLAYERS

The authors present evidence that the surface of inert silica becomes catalytically active in the presence of a transition metal underlayer. The similar selectivity observed on such drastically different surfaces as silica and platinum indicates that the existence of a surface is more important than its chemical nature. These results provide new insight into the nature of C-H activation and lead the way to a novel class of well-defined catalysts based on transition metal underlayers. The authors' data suggest that the major action of transition metals in heterogeneous C-H activation catalysis is the activation of hydrogen and that the activated hydrogen represents the catalytically active site.