Going Inside to Get a More Efficient Catalyst
January 13, 2017 | Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryEstimated reading time: 1 minute
New research shows that the phases that nano-structured materials go through to become an efficient catalyst are as good as gold.
At left is s an aberration-corrected environmental-transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image revealing the formation of highly crystalline metallic nanoparticles during activation of nanoporous gold. At right is a low-magnification TEM image showing the pore and ligament structure of nanoporous gold.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) material scientist Juergen Biener and collaborators found that by restructuring nanoporous gold alloys they become more efficient catalysts.
Nano-structured materials hold promise for improving catalyst activity and selectivity, but little is known about the dynamic compositional and structural changes that these systems undergo during pre-treatment, which leads to efficient catalyst function. (A catalyst is a substance that enables a chemical reaction to proceed at a usually faster rate or under different conditions than otherwise possible.)
The team used ozone-activated silver-gold alloys in the form of nanoporous gold (npAu) as a case study to demonstrate the dynamic behavior of bi-metallic systems during activation to produce a functioning catalyst.
Nanoporous gold, a porous metal, can be used in electrochemical sensors, catalytic platforms, fundamental structure property studies at the nanoscale and tunable drug release. It also features high effective surface area, tunable pore size, well-defined conjugate chemistry, high electrical conductivity and compatibility with traditional fabrication techniques.
"Our results demonstrate that characterization of these dynamic changes is necessary to unlock the full potential of bi-metallic catalytic materials," Biener said.
Advanced in-situ electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to demonstrate that major restructuring and compositional changes occur along the path to catalytic function.
Suggested Items
ITW EAE Patented Auto Exit Wing Feature for Electrovert Wave Soldering Machines
01/16/2024 | ITW EAEITW EAE’s patented feature for the Electrovert Wave Soldering machines that provides automatic adjustment of the laminar wave flow to match the board velocity.
ITW EAE Patented Auto Exit Wing Feature for Electrovert Wave Soldering Machines
01/16/2024 | ITW EAEITW EAE’s patented feature for the Electrovert Wave Soldering machines that provides automatic adjustment of the laminar wave flow to match the board velocity.
Ucamco Launches Jayda: A Revolutionary Web-Based Quoting Tool with Dynamic Graphics
11/10/2023 | UcamcoUcamco, a leading name in PCB frontend software solutions, is excited to introduce its groundbreaking software product, Jayda. This innovative tool redefines the landscape of web-based quoting solutions, offering a seamless blend of AI technology and dynamic graphics.
Semidynamics, Arteris Partner to Accelerate AI RISC-V System-on-Chip Development
11/02/2023 | ArterisThe partnership supports the interoperability between Semidynamics' Atrevido™ and Avispado™ 64-bit RISC-V processor IP cores and Arteris’ Ncore cache coherent network-on-chip (NoC) system IP.
Keysight, CTTL Complete First CTIA MIMO Over-the-Air Dynamic Channel Model Test System Validation
08/02/2023 | Business WireKeysight Technologies, Inc. has built the first MIMO over-the-air (OTA) dynamic channel model test and user equipment (UE) performance validation system with China Telecommunication Technology Labs (CTTL) based on CTIA requirements for the 5G New Radio (NR) FR1 frequency band.