Site specific and localized structural displacements in open structured multimetallic oxides.

The structures of solids can locally differ from the macroscopic picture obtained by structural averaging techniques. This difference significantly influences the performance of any functional material. Measurements of these local structures are challenging.

Elucidation of artefacts in proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometers.

We present an effective procedure to differentiate instrumental artefacts, such as parasitic ions, memory effects, and real trace impurities contained in inert gases. Three different proton transfer reaction mass spectrometers were used in order to identify instrument-specific parasitic ions. The methodology reveals new nitrogen- and metal-containing ions that up to date have not been reported.

How to control selectivity in alkane oxidation?

The well-defined particle morphology of crystalline MnWO catalysts investigated in the present study facilitates obtaining insight into the origin of selectivity limitations in alkane oxidation. Hydrothermal synthesis at variable pH values granted access to a series of phase-pure MnWO catalysts with particles ranging from cube-like (aspect ratio 1.5) to rod- or needle-like (aspect ratio 6.

A quasi in situ TEM grid reactor for decoupling catalytic gas phase reactions and analysis.

We present a versatile grid reactor setup for transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which is able to track catalytic conversion on TEM amounts of sample. It is based on the concept of decoupling catalytic gas-phase reactions from the structural analysis of identical particles before and after reaction. The system has superior properties in terms of image resolution and long-term measurements compared to conventional in situ TEM analysis.