Metals exhibit unique catalytic nature when they are deposited as nanoparticles on a variety of metal oxides. These systems are specially used in the electronic industry to fabricate nanostructures which are used as building blocks for optoelectronic, energy storage, and transfer devices. Thus, understanding the behavior of these systems is crucial to improve their applications. Solid-liquid-vapor (SLV) dissolution is one of the nanomaterial fabrication techniques that is used in the semiconductor industry. Even though SLV dissolution is used for nanomaterial fabrications, the competition between SLV etching and diffusion of the metal nanoparticle on/into the metal oxide surface limits its applications. The observation of this phenomenon on Au catalyzed SnO2 substrates inspired us to explore the underlying governing factors and diffusion and dissolution mechanisms of metals on/into metal oxides using real-time in-situ transmission electron microscopy while simultaneously heating. In addition to the comparison between two mechanisms, this project also facilitates the observation of in-situ real-time growth of vertical negative nanowires in single-crystalline SnO2 for the first time.

Understanding Au-SnO2 interface on the atomic level using in-situ TEM heating

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.