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Updated: May 17, 2026

Catalytic Reactions at Amine-Stabilized and Ligand-Free Platinum Nanoparticles Supported on Titania During Hydrogenation of Alkenes and Aldehydes
Published on: June 24, 2022
Towards stable catalysts by controlling collective properties of supported metal nanoparticles
Gonzalo Prieto1, Jovana Zečević, Heiner Friedrich
1Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, NL-3584 CG Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Supported metal nanoparticles play a pivotal role in areas such as nanoelectronics, energy storage/conversion and as catalysts for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. However, the tendency of nanoparticles to grow into larger crystallites is an impediment for stable performance. Exemplarily, loss of active surface area by metal particle growth is a major cause of deactivation for supported catalysts. In specific cases particle growth might be mitigated by tuning the properties of individual nanoparticles, such as size, composition and interaction with the support. Here we present an alternative strategy based on control over collective properties, revealing the pronounced impact of the three-dimensional nanospatial distribution of metal particles on catalyst stability. We employ silica-supported copper nanoparticles as catalysts for methanol synthesis as a showcase. Achieving near-maximum interparticle spacings, as accessed quantitatively by electron tomography, slows down deactivation up to an order of magnitude compared with a catalyst with a non-uniform nanoparticle distribution, or a reference Cu/ZnO/Al(2)O(3) catalyst. Our approach paves the way towards the rational design of practically relevant catalysts and other nanomaterials with enhanced stability and functionality, for applications such as sensors, gas storage, batteries and solar fuel production.
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