Marcus-Controlled ALD Catalytic Conversion Layers

PROBLEM: Catalytic conversion on an ALD-coated surface depends on electrons reaching the pollutant or CO2 molecule through a precisely grown oxide, and the wrong thickness can starve the reaction even when the catalyst itself is sound. Marcus kinetics link that delivery to reorganization energy and driving force, so catalyst choice and oxide growth must be designed together. Idea-stage projects need a shared forum where ALD cycle counts, binding predictions, and conversion observations are proposed side by side.

SOLUTION: IBM Cloud Ideas would host proposals for ALD catalytic layers that attach the oxide recipe, DFT-predicted binding groups, Marcus transfer window, and energy budget to each idea. Reviewers could compare conformal-coating variants, favour low-temperature steps, and require regeneration accounting before an idea is marked ready for testing. The shared record would prevent the same thickness-versus-catalyst question from being reopened without its history.

EVIDENCE BASIS: Marcus electron transfer — rate depends on reorganization energy and driving force; inverted region; Nobel 1992. DFT via Kohn-Sham equations; Hohenberg-Kohn 1964, Kohn-Sham 1965, Nobel 1998. Biosorption surface binding R−COOH + M2+ ⇌ R−COOM+ + H+ and Langmuir/Freundlich isotherms are textbook DOCUMENTED. Source: Nobel Prize records (1992, 1998); standard physical-chemistry textbooks.