Greatly enhanced adsorption and catalytic activity of Au and Pt clusters on defective graphene

We report an investigation on CO oxidation catalyzed by Au₈ or Pt₄ clusters on defective graphene using first-principles approach based on density functional theory. The simplest single-carbon-vacancy defect on graphene was found to play an essential role in the catalyzed chemical reaction of CO oxidation. When supported on a defect-free graphene sheet, the reaction barrier of CO oxidation catalyzed by Au₈ (Pt₄) clusters was estimated to be around 3.0 eV (0.5 eV), and when adsorbed on defective graphene, the reaction barrier was greatly reduced to around 0.2 eV (0.13 eV).