As reported in the July 9, 2008 online edition of the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, the scientists made size-selected molybdenum sulfide nanoclusters as gaseous ions, and then gently deposited the clusters on a gold surface. The nanoclusters interact weakly with the gold support and therefore remain intact.
"With this new instrument, we can control how many and what type of atoms are in a nanocluster," said Brookhaven chemist Michael White, the principal author of the paper. "This knowledge enables us to make nanoclusters with predetermined size, structure and chemical composition, all which are important for the design of new catalysts." | Michael White's work is described in the June 2008 edition of 'Take 5', Brookhaven's monthly video magazine. Real Player is required to view this video. > PLAY VIDEO. |
In the current research, the scientists explored the chemical reactivity of a very stable or “magic” cluster of four atoms of molybdenum and six atoms of sulfur deposited on a gold surface. This small nanocluster is thought to be prototypical of active catalyst particles because all the molybdenum metal atoms are exposed and therefore can react with other molecules. Exploring larger and more reactive nanoclusters will be the next step.
"This was a study to test the capabilities of the newly built instrument," White said. "Now we can do further studies with different nanoclusters to find those that are most reactive and therefore best suited as models for making the most efficient nanocatalysts."
Melissa Patterson, a W. Burghardt Turner Fellow at Stony Brook University, is a coauthor of the paper.
This research was funded by DOE’s Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, through the Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology initiative.
Contact: Diane Greenberg greenb@bnl.gov 631-344-2347 DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Tags: Nano or Nanotechnology and Nanotech
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