In Situ and Operando Catalyst Characterization

A special issue of Surfaces (ISSN 2571-9637).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2678

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Science, Universita degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy
Interests: ultrathin films; 2D materials; model electrocatalysts; model catalysts; HER, ORR and CRR
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Guest Editor
Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wrocław, 50-204 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: surface science; electrochemistry; model catalyst; heterogeneous catalysis; water splitting; ultra-thin films; 2D materials; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; in-operando/in-situ EC-STM

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of new technologies to meet the current energy and environmental challenges requires the acquisition of very fundamental knowledge regarding the structure and activity of catalytic materials at the nanometric scale. With the beginning of the new millennium, two “old” Latin words have attracted the attention of people working in the field of catalyst characterization: in situ and operando. We speak of in situ investigations when the evaluation of the catalyst is made under controlled pressure, atmosphere and temperature conditions, like those encountered during catalysis, but without this automatically implying any temporal evolution. Conversely, we speak of operando when the in situ investigations monitor the temporal evolution of the catalytic system and catalytic performances as the reactions take place. These concepts can be applied to a variety of advanced characterization techniques.  

A particularly challenging endeavor is to derive an accurate correlation between an atomically well-defined site and its catalytic activity. In many cases, standard characterization techniques provide only area-averaged information, so connecting specific figures of merit concerning the reactivity to a single type of catalytic site is not trivial, given that various structural and morphological features can be co-present on the same “real” catalyst. Nowadays, some advanced techniques (e.g., scanning probe microscopies and electron microscopies) can focus on single atomic sites and allow us to observe the atoms at work during the reaction that takes place on the surfaces of a catalyst.  

In this Special Issue, we cordially invite manuscripts that address advanced in situ and operando characterizations of catalysts, electrocatalysts, and, in general, other dynamic processes occurring on surfaces, both through local and defocused probes. We also welcome papers employing in silico approaches to study dynamic processes on surfaces.

Prof. Dr. Gaetano Granozzi
Dr. Tomasz Kosmala
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • in situ and operando characterization
  • structure–activity relationships
  • knowledge-based approach for catalysts for energy, environment and industrial applications
  • study of the initial stage of the corrosion process
  • self-assembly, adsorption and related phenomena
  • STM/AFM and electrochemical STM/AFM
  • TEM and X-ray adsorption techniques (XANES and EXAFS)
  • ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
  • scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM)
  • fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy
  • theoretical and computational studies

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

18 pages, 6191 KiB  
Review
Catalytically Active Materials Visualized by Scanning Photoelectron Spectro-Microscopy
by Matteo Amati, Lada V. Yashina, Philipp Winkler, Kevin Sparwasser, Zygmunt Milosz, Günther Rupprechter and Luca Gregoratti
Surfaces 2024, 7(3), 442-459; https://doi.org/10.3390/surfaces7030028 - 26 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1083
Abstract
Modern catalysts are complex systems whose performance depends both on space and time domains and, most importantly, on the operational environment. As a direct consequence, understanding their functionalities requires sophisticated techniques and tools for measurement and simulation, addressing the proper spatial and temporal [...] Read more.
Modern catalysts are complex systems whose performance depends both on space and time domains and, most importantly, on the operational environment. As a direct consequence, understanding their functionalities requires sophisticated techniques and tools for measurement and simulation, addressing the proper spatial and temporal scale and being capable of mimicking the working conditions of every single component, such as catalyst supports, electrodes, electrolytes, as well as of the entire assembly, e.g., in the case of fuel cells or batteries. Scanning photoelectron spectro-microscopy (SPEM) is one of the approaches that allow combining X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with sub-micron spatial resolution; in particular, the SPEM hosted at the ESCA Microscopy beamline at Elettra has been upgraded to conduct in situ and operando experiments. Three different case studies are presented to illustrate the capabilities of the SPEM in the investigation of catalytic materials in different conditions and processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Situ and Operando Catalyst Characterization)
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44 pages, 10192 KiB  
Review
Metal–Perovskite Interfacial Engineering to Boost Activity in Heterogeneous Catalysis
by Christoph Malleier and Simon Penner
Surfaces 2024, 7(2), 296-339; https://doi.org/10.3390/surfaces7020020 - 6 May 2024
Viewed by 1011
Abstract
In this review, we have assessed the possibility of metal–perovskite interfacial engineering to enhance the catalytic activity and selectivity in a range of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. We embarked on a literature screening of different perovskite material classes and reactions to show the versatility [...] Read more.
In this review, we have assessed the possibility of metal–perovskite interfacial engineering to enhance the catalytic activity and selectivity in a range of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. We embarked on a literature screening of different perovskite material classes and reactions to show the versatility of the perovskite structures to induce the formation of such hetero-interfaces and the widespread nature of the phenomenon in catalytic research. There is almost no limitation on the chemical composition of the used perovskites and the nature of the catalyzed reaction, be it under reduction or oxidation conditions. We attempted to classify the perovskite materials, discuss the different strategies leading to the hetero-interfaces, and detail the synergistic action of the components of the respective interfaces. We also provide a critical assessment of the large body of data that is available in terms of a knowledge-based approach to the comparison of differently prepared interfaces with varying interfacial extent to gain a deeper understanding of the bi-functional operation of the interfaces and the urgent necessity to study and characterize such interfaces under realistic operation conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue In Situ and Operando Catalyst Characterization)
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