Catalysis
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Excellent Good N/A
TEM/SEM/X-Ray holders for Catalysis Research
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Gas Flow HolderSee MoreHeating in reaction gas environments up to 1.5 atmosphere |
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Liquid Flow HolderSee MoreHeating, biasing and/or optical stimulation of samples reacting in liquid environments |
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Heating/BiasingSee MoreHeating, biasing of samples reacting in vacuum environments |
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X-Ray/Synchrotron Liquid HolderSee MoreA complete in-situ x-ray lab system |
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Operando TEM Catalysis at atmospheric pressure
Atomistic interaction of gas-solid phase is important to understand the working mechanism of various catalyst materials. This is specially for heterostructures with different structures. Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory used Hummingbird Scientific’s Gas TEM system and observed atomic interaction of Ag/AgCl heterostructures during the redox process using the beam. In the experiment, Ag/AgCl nanocatalyst was first reduced to Ag, and then Ag was oxidized to different phases of silver oxide under different O2 partial pressures. Ag2O formed at low O2 partial pressure, whereas AgO formed at atmospheric pressure.
The TEM image of the top left shows the atomic scale redox dynamics of Ag/AgCl heterostructures studied using in-situ TEM gas holder.
Reference: Yimin A. Wu, Liang Li, Zheng Li, Alper Kinaci, Maria K. Y. Chan, Yugang Sun, Jeffrey R. Guest, Ian McNulty, Tijana Rajh, and Yuzi Liu. “Visualizing Redox Dynamics of a Single Ag/AgCl Heterogeneous Nanocatalyst at Atomic Resolution,” ACS Nano (2016) pp. 3738-3746. Abstract
Image copyright © 2016 American Chemical Society
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In-Situ TEM Reduction of Ferrihydrite to Magnetite
Operando reaction of Ferrihydrite nano-particles to Magnetite. Hydrogen gas at 1.1 bar was flown into the in-situ TEM gas cell during the experiment. When heated at 360°C the particles show changes from an amorphous to a crystalline structure as part of reducing reactions. In-situ time lapse image sequences are used to characterize these processes (Figure A-D). Imaging performance at temperature and pressure was explored and shown to almost match imaging performance of imaging in vacuum of similar samples on similar substrates. With the range of pressures and temperatures accessible with this experimental system, these types of experiments can be used to quantitatively explore kinetics over a large range of temperatures and pressures.
Hummingbird Scientific internal data in collaboration with Jaco Olivier, Matthew Coombes, Jan Neethling, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
EditMapping of Catalytic Reactions in Real Time
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have used Hummingbird Scientific in-situ gas cell TEM and X-Ray specimen holders to characterize heterogeneous catalytic reactions. By using correlated gas cell scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and X-ray microscopy and spectroscopy they were able to quantitatively characterize catalytic activity of supported Pt catalysts. The capability of the Hummingbird Scientific gas cell to be transferred between the TEM and X-Ray microscope allowed a variety of probes to characterize a model catalytic reaction. This method can be broadly applied to study operando gas-reaction studies.
Reference: Y. Li, D. Zakharov, S. Zhao, R. Tappero, U. Jung, A. Elsen, Ph. Baumann, R.G. Nuzzo, E.A. Stach & A.I. Frenkel, “Complex structural dynamics of nanocatalysts revealed in Operando conditions by correlated imaging and spectroscopy probes”. Nature Communications (2015) Abstract
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Reduction of Co nanoparticles from hollow-core oxide particles
These experiments show the changes in nanoparticle morphology during oxidation and reduction of Co nanoparticles, which are crucial for making sense of the fundamental relationships involved in catalytic activity.
Left: Movie of the (re)formation of Co nanoparticles from hollow-core oxide particles when heated from 250°C to 350°C in 1 bar of flowing oxygen.
Reference: H.L. Xin, K. Niu, D.H. Alsem and H. Zheng. “In-Situ TEM Study of Catalytic Nanoparticle Reactions in Atmospheric Pressure Gas Environment,” Microscopy & Microanalysis 19 (2013) pp. 1558. Abstract
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America, 2013
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| Chen Houa, Jiuhui Hanb, Pan Liua, Chuchu Yangb, Gang Huangb, Takeshi Fujitab, Akihiko Hiratab, and Mingwei Chen. “Operando observations of RuO2 catalyzed Li2O2 formation and decomposition in a Li-O2 micro-battery,” Nano Energy (2018) | Abstract |
| Yimin A. Wu, Liang Li, Zheng Li, Alper Kinaci, Maria K. Y. Chan, Yugang Sun, Jeffrey R. Guest, Ian McNulty, Tijana Rajh, and Yuzi Liu. “Visualizing Redox Dynamics of a Single Ag/AgCl Heterogeneous Nanocatalyst at Atomic Resolution,” ACS Nano (2016) | Abstract |
| Y. Li, D. Zakharov, S. Zhao, R. Tappero, U. Jung, A. Elsen, Ph. Baumann, R.G. Nuzzo, E.A. Stach & A.I. Frenkel, “Complex structural dynamics of nanocatalysts revealed in Operando conditions by correlated imaging and spectroscopy probes”. Nature Communications (2015) | Abstract |
| H.L. Xin, K. Niu, D.H. Alsem, and H. Zheng. “In-Situ TEM Study of Catalytic Nanoparticle Reactions in Atmospheric Pressure Gas Environment,” Microscopy and Microanalysis (2013) | Abstract |
| S.M. Kim, C.L. Pint, P.B. Amama, R.H. Hauge, B. Maruyama, E.A. Stach. “Catalyst and catalyst support morphology evolution in single-walled carbon nanotube supergrowth: Growth deceleration and termination,” Journal of Material Resolution (2010) | Abstract |
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