Size-dependent catalytic activity and dynamics of gold nanoparticles at the single-molecule level

Nanoparticles are important catalysts for petroleum processing, energy conversion, and pollutant removal. As compared to their bulk counterparts, their often superior or new catalytic properties result from their nanometer size, which gives them increased surface-to-volume ratios and chemical potentials. The size of nanoparticles is thus pivotal for their catalytic properties. Here, we use single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to study the size-dependent catalytic activity and dynamics of spherical Au-nanoparticles under ambient solution conditions. By monitoring the catalysis of individual Au-nanoparticles of three different sizes in real time with single-turnover resolution, we observe clear size-dependent activities in both the catalytic product formation reaction and the product dissociation reaction. Within a model of classical thermodynamics, these size-dependent activities of Au-nanoparticles can be accounted for by the changes in the adsorption free energies of the substrate resazurin and the product resorufin because of the nanosize effect. We also observe size-dependent differential selectivity of the Au-nanoparticles between two parallel product dissociation pathways, with larger nanoparticles less selective between the two pathways. The particle size also strongly influences the surface-restructuring-coupled catalytic dynamics; both the catalysis-induced and the spontaneous dynamic surface restructuring occur more readily for smaller Au-nanoparticles due to their higher surface energies. Using a simple thermodynamic model, we analyze the catalysis- and size-dependent dynamic surface restructuring quantitatively; the results provide estimates on the activation energies and time scales of spontaneous dynamic surface restructuring that are fundamental to heterogeneous catalysis in both the nano- and the macro-scale. This study further exemplifies the power of the single-molecule approach in probing the intricate workings of nanoscale catalysts.