Configurational control in catalysis: Perspective on Hess et al., One-dimensional confinement in heterogeneous catalysis: Trapped oxygen on RuO2(110) model catalysts

Recent experiments and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations reveal O adsorbates kinetically trapped at an RuO2(110) surface by Cl co-adsorbates. Cl decoration configurationally isolates O adsorbates, stabilizing them against O–O recombinative desorption to anomalously high temperature. The results illustrate how surface configurational effects can be exploited to tune heterogeneous reactivity.