Atomic-scale imaging of catalysts in their functional state by aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM)

摘要

Currently the strong focus on energy producing and environmental protecting technologies relies on the advancement of new functional nanomaterials, especially catalysts. Characterization of the state and properties of such a nanocatalyst as well as of the catalyst‟s activity, selectivity and stability demands detailed dynamic atomic-scale insights while in operation conditions [1,2]. In particular, visualization of solid heterogeneous catalysts and their structural evolution in situ under reaction environments are crucial to obtain detailed knowledge about the relationship between the nanostructure of the catalyst/support system and its function, because generally there is no evidence that the dynamic state of the materials can be truly inferred from postmortem examinations of the catalyst materials.