title: Approaches to single-nanoparticle catalysis.
abstract: Nanoparticles are among the most important industrial catalysts, with applications ranging from chemical manufacturing to energy conversion and storage. Heterogeneity is a general feature among these nanoparticles, with their individual differences in size, shape, and surface sites leading to variable, particle-specific catalytic activity. Assessing the activity of individual nanoparticles, preferably with subparticle resolution, is thus desired and vital to the development of efficient catalysts. It is challenging to measure the activity of single-nanoparticle catalysts, however. Several experimental approaches have been developed to monitor catalysis on single nanoparticles, including electrochemical methods, single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, X-ray microscopy, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. This review focuses on these experimental approaches, the associated methods and strategies, and selected applications in studying single-nanoparticle catalysis with chemical selectivity, sensitivity, or subparticle spatial resolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850; email: pc252@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Justin B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Sambur
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D020527:Microscopy, Scanning Probe / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance