Correlating 3D Surface Atomic Structure and Catalytic Activities of Pt Nanocrystals

Active sites and catalytic activity of heterogeneous catalysts is determined by their surface atomic structures. However, probing the surface structure at an atomic resolution is difficult, especially for solution ensembles of catalytic nanocrystals, which consist of heterogeneous particles with irregular shapes and surfaces. Here, we constructed 3D maps of the coordination number (CN) and generalized CN ((CN) over bar) for individual surface atoms of sub-3 nm Pt nanocrystals. Our results reveal that the synthesized Pt nanocrystals are enclosed by islands of atoms with nonuniform shapes that lead to complex surface structures, including a high ratio of low-coordination surface atoms, reduced domain size of low-index facets, and various types of exposed high-index facets. 3D maps of (CN) over bar are directly correlated to catalytic activities assigned to individual surface atoms with distinct local coordination structures, which explains the origin of high catalytic performance of small Pt nanocrystals in important reactions such as oxygen reduction reactions and CO electro-oxidation.

Automated summary

The surface atomic structures of synthesized Pt nanocrystals were found to be complex, with a high ratio of low-coordination surface atoms, reduced domain size of low-index facets, and various types of exposed high-index facets. The 3D maps of generalized coordination number ((CN) over bar) are directly correlated to catalytic activities, explaining the high catalytic performance of small Pt nanocrystals in important reactions.