title: Geometry-assisted three-dimensional superlocalization imaging of single-molecule catalysis on modular multilayer nanocatalysts.
abstract: To establish the structure-catalytic property relationships of heterogeneous catalysts, a detailed characterization of the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of active sites on a single catalyst is essential. Single-particle catalysis of a modular multilayer catalytic platform that consists of a solid silica core, a mesoporous silica shell, and uniformly distributed Pt nanoparticles sandwiched in between these layers is presented. The first 3D high-resolution super-localization imaging of single fluorescent molecules produced at active sites on the core-shell model nanocatalysts is demonstrated. The 3D mapping is aided by the well-defined geometry and a correlation study in scanning electron microscopy and total internal reflection fluorescence and scattering microscopy. This approach can be generalized to study other nano- and mesoscale structures.
authors.affiliation: Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, and Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011 (USA).
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Ji Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Chaoxian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Yuchen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Nicholas L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Bormann
authors.forename: Wenyu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fang
keywords: heterogeneous catalysis; mesoporous silica; multilayer nanocatalysts; platinum; three-dimensional imaging