Catalyst Mechanism (IMAGE)

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory

Catalyst Mechanism

Caption

A close-up of the platinum/iridium (green/blue) shell over a gold nanoparticle core (yellow), showing how this catalyst cleaves the carbon-carbon (gray) bonds in ethanol while initially leaving hydrogen atoms attached. The hydrogen protects the carbon in the early stages of the reaction, preventing the formation of catalyst-poisoning carbon monoxide, which enables complete oxidation and the release of 12 electrons.

Credit

Brookhaven National Laboratory

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