Superresolution fluorescence mapping of single-nanoparticle catalysts reveals spatiotemporal variations in surface reactivity.

For the practical application of nanocatalysts, it is desirable to understand the spatiotemporal fluctuations of nanocatalytic activity at the single-nanoparticle level. Here we use time-lapsed superresolution mapping of single-molecule catalysis events on individual nanoparticles to observe time-varying changes in the spatial distribution of catalysis events on Sb-doped TiO2 nanorods and Au triangle nanoplates. Compared with the active sites on well-defined surface facets, the defects of the nanoparticle catalysts possess higher intrinsic reactivity but lower stability. Corners and ends are more reactive but also less stable than flat surfaces. Averaged over time, the most stable sites dominate the total apparent activity of single nanocatalysts. However, the active sites with higher intrinsic activity but lower stability show activity at earlier time points before deactivating. Unexpectedly, some active sites are found to recover their activity ("self-healing") after deactivation, which is probably due to desorption of the adsorbate. Our superresolution measurement of different types of active catalytic sites, over both space and time, leads to a more comprehensive understanding of reactivity patterns and may enable the design of new and more productive heterogeneous catalysts.

Enhanced electrochemical methanation of carbon dioxide with a dispersible nanoscale copper catalyst.

Although the vast majority of hydrocarbon fuels and products are presently derived from petroleum, there is much interest in the development of routes for synthesizing these same products by hydrogenating CO2. The simplest hydrocarbon target is methane, which can utilize existing infrastructure for natural gas storage, distribution, and consumption. Electrochemical methods for methanizing CO2 currently suffer from a combination of low activities and poor selectivities. We demonstrate that copper nanoparticles supported on glassy carbon (n-Cu/C) achieve up to 4 times greater methanation current densities compared to high-purity copper foil electrodes. The n-Cu/C electrocatalyst also exhibits an average Faradaic efficiency for methanation of 80% during extended electrolysis, the highest Faradaic efficiency for room-temperature methanation reported to date. We find that the level of copper catalyst loading on the glassy carbon support has an enormous impact on the morphology of the copper under catalytic conditions and the resulting Faradaic efficiency for methane. The improved activity and Faradaic efficiency for methanation involves a mechanism that is distinct from what is generally thought to occur on copper foils. Electrochemical data indicate that the early steps of methanation on n-Cu/C involve a pre-equilibrium one-electron transfer to CO2 to form an adsorbed radical, followed by a rate-limiting non-electrochemical step in which the adsorbed CO2 radical reacts with a second CO2 molecule from solution. These nanoscale copper electrocatalysts represent a first step toward the preparation of practical methanation catalysts that can be incorporated into membrane-electrode assemblies in electrolyzers.

Phase-selective cation-exchange chemistry in sulfide nanowire systems.

As a cation-deficient, p-type semiconductor, copper sulfide (Cu(2-x)S) shows promise for applications such as photovoltaics, memristors, and plasmonics. However, these applications demand precise tuning of the crystal phase as well as the stoichiometry of Cu(2-x)S, an ongoing challenge in the synthesis of Cu(2-x)S materials for a specific application. Here, a detailed transformation diagram of cation-exchange (CE) chemistry from cadmium sulfide (CdS) into Cu(2-x)S nanowires (NWs) is reported. By varying the reaction time and the reactants' concentration ratio, the progression of the CE process was captured, and tunable crystal phases of the Cu(2-x)S were achieved. It is proposed that the evolution of Cu(2-x)S phases in a NW system is dependent on both kinetic and thermodynamic factors. The reported data demonstrate that CE can be used to precisely control the structure, composition, and crystal phases of NWs, and such control may be generalized to other material systems for a variety of practical applications.

Size-dependent dissociation of carbon monoxide on cobalt nanoparticles.

In situ soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was employed to study the adsorption and dissociation of carbon monoxide molecules on cobalt nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 4 to 15 nm. The majority of CO molecules adsorb molecularly on the surface of the nanoparticles, but some undergo dissociative adsorption, leading to oxide species on the surface of the nanoparticles. We found that the tendency of CO to undergo dissociation depends critically on the size of the Co nanoparticles. Indeed, CO molecules dissociate much more efficiently on the larger nanoparticles (15 nm) than on the smaller particles (4 nm). We further observed a strong increase in the dissociation rate of adsorbed CO upon exposure to hydrogen, clearly demonstrating that the CO dissociation on cobalt nanoparticles is assisted by hydrogen. Our results suggest that the ability of cobalt nanoparticles to dissociate hydrogen is the main parameter determining the reactivity of cobalt nanoparticles in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

Ion exchange synthesis of III-V nanocrystals.

III-V nanocrystals displaying high crystallinity and low size dispersity are difficult to access by direct synthesis from molecular precursors. Here, we demonstrate that cation exchange of cadmium pnictide nanocrystals with group 13 ions yields monodisperse, crystalline III-V nanocrystals, including GaAs, InAs, GaP, and InP. This report highlights the versatility of cation exchange for accessing nanocrystals with covalent lattices.

Probing redox photocatalysis of trapped electrons and holes on single Sb-doped titania nanorod surfaces.

We used a fluorogenic reaction to study in conjunction the photocatalytic properties for both active sites (trapped photogenerated electrons and holes) on individual Sb-doped TiO(2) nanorods with single-molecule fluorescence microscopy. It was found that active sites around trapped holes show higher activity, stronger binding ability, and a different dissociation mechanism for the same substrate and product molecules in comparison with the active sites around trapped electrons. These differences could be elucidated by a model involving the charged microenvironments around the active sites.

In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy of Cadmium Selenide Nanorod Sublimation.

In situ electron microscopy is used to observe the morphological evolution of cadmium selenide nanorods as they sublime under vacuum at a series of elevated temperatures. Mass loss occurs anisotropically along the nanorod's long axis. At temperatures close to the sublimation threshold, the phase change occurs from both tips of the nanorods and proceeds unevenly with periods of rapid mass loss punctuated by periods of relative stability. At higher temperatures, the nanorods sublime at a faster, more uniform rate, but mass loss occurs from only a single end of the rod. We propose a mechanism that accounts for the observed sublimation behavior based on the terrace-ledge-kink (TLK) model and how the nanorod surface chemical environment influences the kinetic barrier of sublimation.

Seeded synthesis of CdSe/CdS rod and tetrapod nanocrystals.

We demonstrate a method for the synthesis of multicomponent nanostructures consisting of CdS and CdSe with rod and tetrapod morphologies. A seeded synthesis strategy is used in which spherical seeds of CdSe are prepared first using a hot-injection technique. By controlling the crystal structure of the seed to be either wurtzite or zinc-blende, the subsequent hot-injection growth of CdS off of the seed results in either a rod-shaped or tetrapod-shaped nanocrystal, respectively. The phase and morphology of the synthesized nanocrystals are confirmed using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, demonstrating that the nanocrystals are phase-pure and have a consistent morphology. The extinction coefficient and quantum yield of the synthesized nanocrystals are calculated using UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The rods and tetrapods exhibit extinction coefficients and quantum yields that are higher than that of the bare seeds. This synthesis demonstrates the precise arrangement of materials that can be achieved at the nanoscale by using a seeded synthetic approach.