title: Atomic-scale observation of migration and coalescence of Au nanoclusters on YSZ surface by aberration-corrected STEM.
abstract: Unraveling structural dynamics of noble metal nanoclusters on oxide supports is critical to understanding reaction process and origin of catalytic activity in heterogeneous catalysts. Here, we show that aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy can provide direct atomic-resolution imaging of surface migration, coalescence, and atomic rearrangement of Au clusters on an Y:ZrO₂ (YSZ) support. The high resolution enables us to reveal migration and coalescence process of Au clusters at the atomic scale, and to demonstrate that the coalesced clusters undergo a cooperative atomic rearrangement, which transforms the coherent into incoherent Au/YSZ interface. This approach can help to elucidate atomistic mechanism of catalytic activities and to develop novel catalysts with enhanced functionality.
authors: 1] Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, Department of Physics, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai 200062, China [2] Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan.
authors: Junjie
authors: J
authors: Li
authors: Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan.
authors: Zhongchang
authors: Z
authors: Wang
authors: Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan.
authors: Chunlin
authors: C
authors: Chen
authors: Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, Department of Physics, East China Normal University, North Zhongshan Road 3663, Shanghai 200062, China.
authors: Sumei
authors: S
authors: Huang