Watching catalysis

Using a state-of-the-art spectroscopy system, scientists from the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have watched, for the first time, as nanoparticles composed of two catalytic metals changed their composition in the presence of different reactants.

Prof Gabor Somorjai, a surface science and catalysis expert, conducted the research with Prof Miquel Salmeron, a pioneer in a field of spectroscopy.

‘By watching catalysts change in real time, we can possibly design smart catalysts that optimally change as a reaction evolves,’ Prof Somorjai said.

Until now, nanoscale catalysts could only be observed before and after a reaction. How a catalyst behaved during a reaction remained the stuff of guesswork.

‘It’s difficult to tune a catalyst to do exactly what you want unless you know how it adapts during a reaction,’ added Prof Salmeron. ‘With our work, we can for the first time see what the catalyst is doing during the reaction, not before and after.’