How Catalytic Reactions Can Change a Catalyst for the Better (IMAGE)
Caption
In a study at SLAC and Stanford, theorists predicted that catalyst nanoparticles made of palladium and platinum (left) would become rounder during certain chemical reactions (middle), creating step-like features with pairs of atoms that are especially active catalytic sites. Experiments and electron microscope images like the one at right confirmed that this is the case, offering a new understanding of how catalysts work.
Credit
Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
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