It is of great scientific interest to study ceria-supported Ni-based bimetallic particles. Ni has attracted a lot attention as dry reforming of methane and steam reforming of ethanol catalysts. It can cleave the C-C and C-H bonds effectively and is economical as a reforming catalyst. However, Ni can deactivate easily due to sintering and coke formation during the reforming process. Ceria has attracted a lot of attention in recent years as a suitable catalytic support for Ni owing to its unique redox properties and oxygen-storage capacity. Bimetallic Ni-based systems including Ni-Rh, Ni-Co and Ni-Cu could provide interesting properties compared to individual Ni counterpart due to the synergistic effects between the two metals as well as the interaction between the metal and ceria oxide. To elucidate the chemistry of ceria-supported bimetallic nanoparticles as potential new catalysts, we investigated the nucleation, growth and sintering of pure metal particles of Ni, Rh, Co and Cu over well-ordered CeO<sub>2</sub>(111) thin films using scanning tunneling microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The growth of metal particles was examined as a function of metal coverage, deposition temperatures, post-deposition annealing temperatures, as well as Ce oxidation states. Our data show that the interactions between the ceria and metal affect the dispersion, size and electronic properties of these supported metal particles. Ni-Rh, Ni-Co and Ni-Cu bimetallic particles can be grown by sequential deposition of each metal element as well as with heating. Addition of Rh, Co and Cu into Ni can greatly inhibit its sintering at elevated temperature which influences its chemical activity.

Growth and sintering of Ni-based bimetallic nanoparticles over reducible CeO<sub>2</sub>(111) thin films

2019 Spring National Meeting

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Growth and sintering of Ni-based bimetallic nanoparticles over reducible CeO2(111) thin films

Growth and sintering of Ni-based bimetallic nanoparticles over reducible CeO₂(111) thin films