title: Nano-socketed nickel particles with enhanced coking resistance grown in situ by redox exsolution.
abstract: Metal particles supported on oxide surfaces are used as catalysts for a wide variety of processes in the chemical and energy conversion industries. For catalytic applications, metal particles are generally formed on an oxide support by physical or chemical deposition, or less commonly by exsolution from it. Although fundamentally different, both methods might be assumed to produce morphologically and functionally similar particles. Here we show that unlike nickel particles deposited on perovskite oxides, exsolved analogues are socketed into the parent perovskite, leading to enhanced stability and a significant decrease in the propensity for hydrocarbon coking, indicative of a stronger metal-oxide interface. In addition, we reveal key surface effects and defect interactions critical for future design of exsolution-based perovskite materials for catalytic and other functionalities. This study provides a new dimension for tailoring particle-substrate interactions in the context of increasing interest for emergent interfacial phenomena.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Dragos
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7208-1055
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neagu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Tae-Sik
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Sasol Technology (UK) Ltd., St Andrews, KY16 9ST Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ménard
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Syed M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bukhari
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Gamble
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Raymond J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Gorte
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vohs
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: John T S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8394-3359
authors.initials: JTS
authors.lastname: Irvine