Ultrafast, Controllable Synthesis of Sub-Nano Metallic Clusters through Defect Engineering

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Catalysis

Background:

• Supported metallic nanoclusters (NCs, < 2 nm) offer enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity.
• Efficient and controllable synthesis of ultrasmall, high-density NCs remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report an in situ synthesis method for surfactant-free, ultrasmall, and uniform metallic nanoclusters.
• To demonstrate size control and high-dispersal density of synthesized nanoclusters.

Main Methods:

• Utilized rapid thermal shock on defective substrates with high-temperature synthesis (∼1800 K) and millisecond synthesis times (∼55 ms).
• Employed defect engineering and optimized loading for robust particle size tuning.
• Demonstrated generality across various metallic nanoclusters (e.g., Pt, Ru, Ir, Ni).

Main Results:

• Achieved synthesis of uniform nanoclusters (< 1 nm) with high-dispersal density, tunable from nanoparticles (>50 nm).
• Ultrasmall NCs exhibited significantly improved activity for catalytic CO oxidation compared to nanoparticles.
• The method proved facile and efficient for synthesizing diverse metallic nanoclusters.

Conclusions:

• The ultrafast, controllable synthesis method enables production of uniform, high-density, size-controllable NCs.
• This approach facilitates the utilization and nanomanufacturing of NCs for various catalytic reactions.
• The technique overcomes previous limitations in synthesizing ultrasmall nanoclusters.