Themasterchemistry.com
Many heterogeneous catalysts are made up of metal nanoparticles supported on a metal oxide surface.
But the particles' interactions with the support can affect the catalytic properties of the catalyst, such as how much of the charge is transferred from the support to the particle.
A study led by a team from Kyushu University has shown that it's possible to measure the charge on an individual nanoparticle. This will help researchers to better understand this effect.
A team of scientists have measured the electrostatic potential inside and around single platinum nanoparticles, supported by titanium dioxide, with atomic-level precision using an electron holographic microscope.
Metal catalysts with high charge states are important for understanding surface catalytic reactions. Researchers have shown how to identify these states using in situ spectroscopy.
In order to expand the technique, the current study was carried out under vacuum conditions, but they think that the next step should be to apply the technique in a gas atmosphere.