Catalysis and society
Catalysis finds itself at the heart of solutions to many of society’s climate, energy, environmental and materials challenges. Heterogeneous catalysts in particular are widely adopted in today’s chemical industries, contributing in over 90 % of all industrial processes to make them more efficient, cleaner and sustainable. Developing the mainstream heterogeneous catalysts of tomorrow requires a fundamental understanding of today’s state-of-the-art catalysts.
Why are nanoparticles important in heterogeneous catalysis?
Today’s catalysts are generally composed of metallic nanoparticles (e.g. Pt, Ru, Ni, Co) deposited on an oxide support (e.g. Al2O3, TiO2, SiO2). For any catalytic reaction, the metal nanoparticle’s size and shape are known to have a profound impact on the catalytic performance of the overall catalyst.
To unravel the specific features of a metallic nanoparticle that direct its catalytic performance, extensive (in situ/operando) characterization methods are employed. These methods, which include modern electron microscopy (e.g. in situ HR-TEM, HAADF-STEM, STEM-EDX, STEM-EELS) and spectroscopy (e.g. in situ FTIR, XAS, etc.) techniques, require versatile and reproducible synthesis procedures to obtain model nanoparticles for catalytic studies.
For such fundamental studies, conventional heterogeneous catalyst synthesis methods (e.g. impregnation, coprecipitation, etc.) are often not suitable to prepare model catalysts required for advanced microscopy or spectroscopy measurements. More advanced approaches such as colloidal nanoparticle synthesis routes have cumbersome and time-consuming synthesis procedures, and require stabilizing ligands which can drastically alter or inhibit the nanoparticle’s catalytic properties. Versatile methods to produce model unsupported and supported catalysts are therefore vital to improve our understanding of catalytic systems and develop future catalysts.
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In the last decade, the development of Electron Microscopy (EM) analysis tools has advanced significantly, with the addition of in-situ characterization capabilities. Especially for catalysis, material science and electronics research, this offers new insights into “black box” processes on the nanoscale. The EM analysis enables researchers to study material behaviour in real-time, under real-world conditions. Institutes all over the world are experimenting with the newest in-situ systems for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDXS) and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS).
In the last decade, the development of Electron Microscopy (EM) analysis tools has advanced significantly, with the addition of in-situ characterization capabilities. Especially for catalysis, material science and electronics research, this offers new insights into “black box” processes on the nanoscale. The EM analysis enables researchers to study material behaviour in real-time, under real-world conditions. Institutes all over the world are experimenting with the newest in-situ systems for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDXS) and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS).
VSPARTICLE is on a mission to speed up research in new nanomaterials by automating the production of advanced nanomaterials. The company introduced the VSP-G1 with the philosophy that making nanomaterials for research should be quick and easy. With the option for a four-month trial period the technology will be accessible for any researcher.