Synthesis of a Spatially Confined, Highly Durable, and Fully Exposed Pd Cluster Catalyst via Sequential Site-Selective Atomic Layer Deposition

Bottom-up synthesis based on site-selective atomic layer deposition is a powerful atomic-scale processing approach to fabricate materials with desired functionalities. Typical selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) can be achieved using selective activation of a growth area or selective deactivation of a protected area. In this work, we explored the site selectivity based on the difference of the inherent surface reactivity between different materials and within the same materials. By sequentially applying two site-selective atomic layer deposition, the ALD Pd catalyst is spatially confined on ALD SnO2 modified h-BN substrate Pd/SnO2/h-BN shows improved catalytic activity and stability due to strong metal–support interactions and spatial confinement. The results reveal that sequential site-selective ALD is a feasible and effective synthesis strategy that provides an attractive path toward designing and developing highly stable catalysts.