Characterisation of the morphology of surface-assembled Au nanoclusters on amorphous carbon.

In this study, aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy is employed to investigate the morphology of Au clusters formed from the aggregation of single atoms sputtered onto an amorphous carbon surface. The morphologies of surface-assembled clusters of > 100 atoms are referenced against the morphologies of size-selected clusters determined from previously published results. We observe that surface-assembled clusters (at the conditions employed here) are approximately spherical in shape.

Frame-by-frame observations of structure fluctuations in single mass-selected Au clusters using aberration-corrected electron microscopy.

The multi-dimensional potential energy surface (PES) of a nanoparticle, such as a bare cluster of metal atoms, controls both the structure and dynamic behaviour of the particle. These properties are the subject of numerous theoretical simulations. However, quantitative experimental measurements of critical PES parameters are needed to regulate the models employed in the theoretical work.

Cd/Pt Precursor Solution for Solar H Production and in situ Photochemical Synthesis of Pt Single-atom Decorated CdS Nanoparticles.

Despite extensive efforts to develop high-performance H evolution catalysts, this remains a major challenge. Here, we demonstrate the use of Cd/Pt precursor solutions for significant photocatalytic H production (154.7 mmol g  h ), removing the need for a pre-synthesized photocatalyst.

Methanol synthesis from CO and H using supported Pd alloy catalysts.

A number of Pd based materials have been synthesised and evaluated as catalysts for the conversion of carbon dioxide and hydrogen to methanol, a useful platform chemical and hydrogen storage molecule. Monometallic Pd catalysts show poor methanol selectivity, but this is improved through the formation of Pd alloys, with both PdZn and PdGa alloys showing greatly enhanced methanol productivity compared with monometallic Pd/AlO and Pd/TiO catalysts. Catalyst characterisation shows that the 1 : 1 β-PdZn alloy is present in all Zn containing post-reaction samples, including PdZn/GaO, with the PdGa alloy formed for the Pd/GaO sample.