Exceptionally Stable Cobalt Nanoclusters on Functionalized Graphene

To improve reactivity and achieve a higher material efficiency, catalysts are often used in the form of clusters with nanometer dimensions, down to single atoms. Since the corresponding properties are highly structure‐dependent, a suitable support is thus required to ensure cluster stability during...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Small structures 2024-08, Vol.5 (8), p.n/a
Main Authors: Chesnyak, Valeria, Stavrić, Srdjan, Panighel, Mirco, Povoledo, Daniele, del Puppo, Simone, Peressi, Maria, Comelli, Giovanni, Africh, Cristina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic structure
catalysts
Clusters
Cobalt
Density functional theory
Diffusion barriers
Graphene
Nanoclusters
Nickel
Partial pressure
Scanning tunneling microscopy
Size distribution
Stability
Substrates
Transition metals
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To improve reactivity and achieve a higher material efficiency, catalysts are often used in the form of clusters with nanometer dimensions, down to single atoms. Since the corresponding properties are highly structure‐dependent, a suitable support is thus required to ensure cluster stability during operating conditions. Herein, an efficient method to stabilize cobalt nanoclusters on graphene grown on nickel substrates, exploiting the anchoring effect of nickel atoms incorporated in the carbon network is presented. The anchored nanoclusters are studied by in situ variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy at different temperatures and upon gas exposure. Cluster stability upon annealing up to 200 °C and upon CO exposure at least up to 1 × 10−6 mbar CO partial pressure is demonstrated. Moreover, the dimensions of the cobalt nanoclusters remain surprisingly small (
ISSN:2688-4062
2688-4062
DOI:10.1002/sstr.202400055