Catalytic nanoparticles are heterogeneous in their nature - and even within the simplest particles structural and compositional differences clearly exist and affect the overall performances of a catalyst. Thus non-disruptive, detailed chemical information at the nanoscale is essential for understanding how surface properties direct the reactivity of catalytic nanoparticles. In this talk I will demonstrate that structure-reactivity correlations can be identified within single catalytic nanoparticles by conducting Infrared nanospectroscopy measurements, while using N-heterocyclic carbene molecules as probes for surface-induced reactivity. Using this approach, we identify the influence of different surface sites on the catalytic reactivity of Au and Pt particles and the ways by which site-dependent reactivity and selectivity varies in response to reaction conditions.

Mapping reactivity and selectivity variations on single catalytic nanoparticles

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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