Tracking the Mn diffusion in the carbon-supported nanoparticles through the collaborative analysis of atom probe and evaporation simulation

TL;DR

This study combines atom probe tomography and evaporation simulation to analyze manganese diffusion in carbon-supported platinum-based nanoparticles, providing insights into their structure and evaporation behavior for catalytic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a combined experimental and computational approach to study Mn diffusion and evaporation in carbon-supported nanoparticles, advancing characterization techniques for nano-catalysts.

Findings

Mn distribution varies significantly after heat treatment

Atom probe tomography reveals detailed 3D elemental distribution

Evaporation simulations correlate with experimental reconstructions

Abstract

Carbon-supported nanoparticles have been used widely as efficient catalysts due to their enhanced surface-to-volume ratio. To investigate their structure-property relationships, acquiring 3D elemental distribution is highly required. Here, the carbon-supported Pt, PtMn alloy, and ordered Pt3Mn nanoparticles are synthesized and analyzed with atom probe tomography as model systems. The significant difference of Mn distribution after the heat-treatment was found. Finally, the field evaporation behavior of the carbon support was discussed and each acquired reconstruction was compared with computational results from the evaporation simulation. This paper provides a guideline for studies using atom probe tomography on the heterogeneous carbon-nanoparticle system that leads to insights toward to a wide application in carbon-supported nano-catalysts.