Characterization of platinum nanoparticles on a non-conductive perovskite catalyst through tailored imaging conditions using advanced scanning electron microscopy.

Platinum (Pt), generally dispersed on a solid oxide support, has been widely used for catalytic chemical reactions in automobile, petroleum and energy industries. During the reactions, Pt is exposed to severe conditions, for example, heat and impurities, that cause Pt agglomeration and poisoning, respectively, resulting in activity/stability losses. Here, perovskite materials are designed with Pt for significant catalytic properties through novel doping and exsolution methods.

In order to accurately determine the catalytic ability of Pt nanoparticles it is important to understand the structure and morphology of nano particles, typical scanning electron microscopy methods do not reveal the morphological characteristics of nanoparticles due to the lack of electron beam stability. Here we demonstrate imaging techniques employed to accurately determine activity, morphology as well as confirming metal dispersion using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX).

This method can improve the catalytic analysis of Pt loading, size, dispersion, and active sites determination.