Crystal‐Plane‐Controlled Surface Restructuring and Catalytic Performance of Oxide Nanocrystals

Abstract

Catalysts forheterogeneous catalytic reactions operate under pressures upto several hundred atmospheres and at temperatures up toseveral hundred degrees Celsius, so that the catalyst nano-particles caneasily undergosurfacerestructuringtoadopt thethermodynamically most stable structure. Thus, it is crucial toexplore the restructuring process of catalyst surfaces underthe reaction conditions to understand catalytic processes atthe microscopic level; moreover, it is desirable to tune thecatalytic performance of the catalyst nanoparticles by con-trolling the surface restructuring process in reactive atmos-pheres.The direct study of catalyst nanoparticles is challengingbecause of the complexity of their structures. Model catalystssuch as single crystals and vicinal surfaces have beenextensively investigated to understand the surface restructur-ing phenomenon, and these studies have provided deepinsights. Strongly chemisorbed adsorbates are well known toinduce structural changes to metal surfaces.