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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2025

3D Depth Profile Reconstruction of Segregated Impurities Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Published on: April 29, 2020

Hidden Impurities Generate False Positives in Single Atom Catalyst Imaging.

Nicolò Allasia¹, Sean Michael Collins^2,3, Quentin Mathieu Ramasse^3,4

¹Department of Chemistry, Materials, and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milano, Italy.

Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)

|May 15, 2024

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Characterizing single-atom catalysts (SACs) is complex. This study combines electron microscopy with spectroscopy to reliably distinguish active sites from impurities, ensuring accurate analysis of these advanced catalytic materials.

Keywords:

STEM-EELS atomically-resolved spectroscopy catalyst characterization catalyst impurities single-atom catalysis

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Catalysis
Nanotechnology

Background:

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer maximum atom utilization and unique properties, bridging heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis.
Direct imaging techniques like scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) are used to verify atomic dispersion but can be confounded by impurities and imaging artifacts.
Distinguishing active single-atom sites from process impurities is crucial for reliable SAC characterization.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate a method for unambiguous chemical identification of single-atom species in catalysts.
To differentiate active catalytic sites from impurities at the atomic level.
To highlight the necessity of combining imaging and spectroscopy for accurate SAC characterization.

Main Methods:

Utilized aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) for imaging.
Employed X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to confirm high metal dispersion.
Combined STEM with single-atom-sensitive electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) for chemical identification.

Main Results:

Successfully distinguished between active single-atom sites (Ni, Cu) and impurities in representative SACs.
Demonstrated the capability of STEM-EELS to provide unambiguous chemical identification at the single-atom level.
Validated the effectiveness of combining spectroscopic and imaging techniques for SAC analysis.

Conclusions:

Accurate characterization of single-atom catalysts is challenging due to potential impurities and imaging limitations.
Tandem application of atomic-resolution imaging (STEM) and spectroscopy (EELS, XAS) is essential for reliable SAC analysis.
This approach provides a robust framework for the definitive identification and characterization of single-atom species in advanced catalytic materials.