LAUSR

Abstract Interest into the roles of water on aqueous phase heterogeneous catalysis is burgeoning. This short review summarizes the influences of hydrogen bonding on adsorption and how water molecules act as co-catalysts in aqueous phase heterogeneous catalysis. These phenomena, which involve interactions and/or reactions with “dangling” hydroxyl or hydroxide groups from nearby water molecules, are related to interfacial phenomena that have been observed at water/oil interfaces in organic synthesis. The hypothesized water structures at water/oil interfaces in organic synthesis is presented, and predictions about how analogous structural effects could influence catalytic chemistry at water/transition metal interfaces are discussed. The focus of this review is on computational methods and observations, but some experimental methods and findings are discussed as well.