Formation of Second-Generation Nanoclusters on Metal Nanoparticles Driven by Reactant Gases

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• 作者：Franklin Feng Tao ; Luan Nguyen ; Shiran Zhang ; Yuanyuan Li ; Yu Tang ; Lei Zhang ; Anatoly I. Frenkel ; Younan Xia ; Miquel Salmeron
• 刊名：Nano Letters
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：August 10, 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：16
• 期：8
• 页码：5001-5009
• 全文大小：571K
• 年卷期：0
• ISSN：1530-6992

文摘

Heterogeneous catalysis occurs at the interface between a solid catalyst and the reactants. The structure of metal catalyst nanoparticles at the metal–gas interface is a key factor that determines catalytic selectivity and activity. Here we report that second-generation nanoclusters are formed on the initial catalyst nanoparticles as a result of interaction with the reactant molecules when the nanoparticles are in a gas phase at Torr pressure or higher. The formation of the second-generation nanoclusters is manifested by a decrease of the average coordination number of the metal atoms and a shift of their core level energies in the presence of gases. The formation of second-generation nanoclusters increases the number of undercoordinated sites, which are the most active for catalysis in many cases.