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Contrasting the EXAFS obtained under air and H-2 environments to reveal details of the surface structure of Pt-Sn nanoparticles

Huang, H; Nassr, ABAA; Celorrio, V; Gianolio, D; Hardacre, C; Brett, DJL; Russell, AE; (2021) Contrasting the EXAFS obtained under air and H-2 environments to reveal details of the surface structure of Pt-Sn nanoparticles. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 10.1039/d1cp00979f. Green open access

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Abstract

Understanding the surface structure of bimetallic nanoparticles is crucial for heterogeneous catalysis. Although surface contraction has been established in monometallic systems, less is known for bimetallic systems, especially of nanoparticles. In this work, the bond length contraction on the surface of bimetallic nanoparticles is revealed by XAS in H2 at room temperature on dealloyed Pt–Sn nanoparticles, where most Sn atoms were oxidized and segregated to the surface when measured in air. The average Sn–Pt bond length is found to be ∼0.09 Å shorter than observed in the bulk. To ascertain the effect of the Sn location on the decrease of the average bond length, Pt–Sn samples with lower surface-to-bulk Sn ratios than the dealloyed Pt–Sn were studied. The structural information specifically from the surface was extracted from the averaged XAS results using an improved fitting model combining the data measured in H2 and in air. Two samples prepared so as to ensure the absence of Sn in the bulk were also studied in the same fashion. The bond length of surface Sn–Pt and the corresponding coordination number obtained in this study show a nearly linear correlation, the origin of which is discussed and attributed to the poor overlap between the Sn 5p orbitals and the available orbitals of the Pt surface atoms.

Type: Article
Title: Contrasting the EXAFS obtained under air and H-2 environments to reveal details of the surface structure of Pt-Sn nanoparticles
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1039/d1cp00979f
Language: English
Additional information: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence
Keywords: RAY-ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY, BOND-LENGTH, ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURE, ETHANOL OXIDATION, LATTICE-PARAMETER, DIRECT REDUCTION, CARBON-MONOXIDE, ALLOY SURFACES, CATALYSTS, PT(111)
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10128680
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