Support drives fate of protected gold nanoclusters as catalysts
Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - 10:00
in Physics & Chemistry
In collaboration with experimentalists from Ghent University, Belgium and Utrecht University, Netherlands, researchers at the Nanoscience Center (NSC) at the University of Jyväskylä, have recently discovered that the choice of a support material for model catalysts, made from gold nanoclusters protected by organic molecules, may have drastic effects on the structure of the catalyst. On certain supports, the clusters completely disintegrate, while on others, the organic protective layer peels away leaving behind the intact metallic nanoclusters that can act as catalysts for a desired reaction. The research was published in Chemistry-A European Journal (2020).