Cooperative communication within and between single nanocatalysts.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Enzymes exhibit catalytic allostery, where reactions at different sites communicate cooperatively over nanometer distances.
• The existence of similar cooperative effects in non-biological nanocatalysts is not well understood, despite their dynamic nature.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether cooperative effects, similar to enzymatic allostery, exist in non-biological nanocatalysts.
• To elucidate the mechanisms and distances of communication between catalytic sites on and between nanocatalysts.

Main Methods:

• Spatiotemporally resolved single-molecule catalysis imaging.
• Analysis of catalytic reactions on individual palladium (Pd) and gold (Au) nanocatalysts.

Main Results:

• Catalytic reactions on single Pd or Au nanocatalysts communicate over ~100 nanometers with a temporal memory of seconds, indicating positive cooperativity.
• Communication between individual nanocatalysts occurs over micrometers via diffusion of charged product molecules.
• Intra- and inter-particle communication mechanisms are distinct but both demonstrate long-range effects.

Conclusions:

• Non-biological nanocatalysts exhibit cooperative effects analogous to enzymatic allostery.
• Long-range communication via charged holes (intra-particle) and product diffusion (inter-particle) provides a novel framework for understanding nanoscale catalysis.