Researchers at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil in collaboration with the ALBA Synchrotron have performed the first detailed measurement of the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) effect in Cu-Ni nanoparticles supported on cerium oxide.
A better understanding of this effect is essential for developing smart catalysts that are more selective, stable and sustainable. The quest for the best catalysts in industry has been a long one, but a new study by Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, in collaboration with the ALBA Synchrotron, has come a step closer. For the first time, researchers have found evidence of what could be the origin of the SMSI effect in catalysts supported on cerium oxide.
Catalysts are used to increase the reaction rate of a given chemical reaction, and have applications in a wide variety of fields. In heterogeneous catalysis, the catalyst is usually composed of metal nanoparticles supported on metal oxides. Among them, CeO2-based catalysts have unique structural and atomic properties that make them suitable in the cutting-edge environmental industry of fuel cells and hydrogen. In this field, they are being explored as high-end photocatalytic reactors for the thermal splitting of water and carbon dioxide. However, what has been termed as the SMSI effect can undermine their desired properties.
>Read more on the ALBA website
Image: (extract, full picture here) Near Ambient Pressure – X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy allowed the identification of the chemical components of the nanoparticles in situ.