Direct Visualization of Independent Ta Centers Supported on Two-Dimensional TiO<sub>2</sub> Nanosheets.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31661285.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b03305.
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Abstract
Highly dispersed, supported oxides are ubiquitous solid catalysts but can be challenging to characterize with atomic precision. Here, it is shown that crystalline anatase TiO<sub>2</sub> nanosheets (∼5 nm thick) are ideal supports for imaging highly dispersed active sites. Ta cations were deposited by several routes, and high-resolution high angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to determine the location of Ta with respect to the TiO<sub>2</sub> lattice and quantify Ta-Ta distances. In the best case, it is shown that >80% of Ta atoms are isolated from one another, whereas other techniques are blind to this critical catalytic property or give only qualitative estimates. TiO<sub>2</sub> nanosheets may prove to be a useful platform for other types of catalysis studies.