LAUSR

Transition metal oxide nanoparticles are common materials in a multitude of applications including heterogeneous catalysis, solar energy harvesting, and energy storage. Understanding the particles’ interplay with their surroundings is key to their efficient usage and design. Herein two DFT-based descriptors are used to study local reactivity on (TiO2)n (n = 7–10) nanoparticles. The local electron attraction energy [E(r)] and the electrostatic potential [V(r)], evaluated on isodensity surfaces, are able to identify and rank Lewis acidic sites on the particles with high accuracy when compared to the interaction energies of the Lewis bases H2O, H2S, NH3, and CO. These interactions are characterized as mainly electrostatically controlled. Given the local character, low computational cost, and excellent performance of the ES(r) and VS(r) descriptors, they are anticipated to find widespread use in nanoparticle research and development.