Kinetics of Lifetime Changes in Bimetallic Nanocatalysts Revealed by Quick X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

Alloyed metal nanocatalysts are of environmental and economic importance in a plethora of chemical technologies. During the catalyst lifetime, supported alloy nanoparticles undergo dynamic changes which are well-recognized but still poorly understood. High-temperature O2 -H2 redox cycling was applied to mimic the lifetime changes in model Pt13 In9 nanocatalysts, while monitoring the induced changes by in situ quick X-ray absorption spectroscopy with one-second resolution. The different reaction steps involved in repeated Pt13 In9 segregation-alloying are identified and kinetically characterized at the single-cycle level. Over longer time scales, sintering phenomena are substantiated and the intraparticle structure is revealed throughout the catalyst lifetime. The in situ time-resolved observation of the dynamic habits of alloyed nanoparticles and their kinetic description can impact catalysis and other fields involving (bi)metallic nanoalloys.