title: Plasmonic Nanospectroscopy of Platinum Catalyst Nanoparticle Sintering in a Mesoporous Alumina Support.
abstract: In situ plasmonic nanospectroscopy has proven useful to bridge the pressure gap in heterogeneous catalysis. The method has, however, so far been used only for idealized two-dimensional systems without the structural complexity of realistic three-dimensional porous oxides, which generally are used as supports for the catalytically active metal nanoparticles. Here, we report a generic method that addresses this structural gap by demonstrating the possibility to use nanoplasmonic sensing to monitor surface processes in a traditional three-dimensional mesoporous alumina matrix, wet-impregnated with Pt nanoparticles. The capability of the experimental platform is illustrated by measuring sintering kinetics of the Pt nanoparticles inside the mesoporous matrix under oxidizing conditions at atmospheric pressure and at temperatures up to 625 °C. The study thus demonstrates in operando plasmonic nanospectroscopy of realistic, commercial catalyst systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and ‡Competence Centre for Catalysis, Chalmers University of Technology , 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pooya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tabib Zadeh Adibi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and ‡Competence Centre for Catalysis, Chalmers University of Technology , 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Torben
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pingel
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and ‡Competence Centre for Catalysis, Chalmers University of Technology , 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and ‡Competence Centre for Catalysis, Chalmers University of Technology , 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grönbeck
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and ‡Competence Centre for Catalysis, Chalmers University of Technology , 412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Langhammer
keywords: catalyst; indirect nanoplasmonic sensing; plasmonic nanospectroscopy; platinum; sintering; washcoat