Three-dimensional atomic mapping of ligands on palladium nanoparticles by atom probe tomography.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34262042.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-24620-9 and PMC identifier 8280228.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Capping ligands are crucial to synthesizing colloidal nanoparticles with functional properties. However, the synergistic effect between different ligands and their distribution on crystallographic surfaces of nanoparticles during colloidal synthesis is still unclear despite powerful spectroscopic techniques, due to a lack of direct imaging techniques. In this study, atom probe tomography is adopted to investigate the three-dimensional atomic-scale distribution of two of the most common types of these ligands, cetrimonium (C19H42N) and halide (Br and Cl) ions, on Pd nanoparticles. The results, validated using density functional theory, demonstrate that the Br anions adsorbed on the nanoparticle surfaces promote the adsorption of the cetrimonium cations through electrostatic interactions, stabilizing the Pd {111} facets. In contrast, the Cl anions are not strongly adsorbed onto the Pd surfaces. The high density of adsorbed cetrimonium cations for Br anion additions results in the formation of multiple-twinned nanoparticles with superior oxidation resistance.