Atom probe tomography of Au-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles synthesized by inert gas condensation

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b09340

Authors: Qifeng Yang (University of Oxford) , Mohsen Danaie (Diamond Light Source) , Neil Young (University of Oxford) , Vicky Broadley (Mantis Deposition Ltd) , David E. Joyce (Mantis Deposition Ltd) , Tomas L. Martin (University of Bristol) , Eric Marceau (Université de Lille, CNRS) , Michael P. Moody (University of Oxford) , Paul A. J. Bagot (University of Oxford)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: The Journal Of Physical Chemistry C

State: Published (Approved)
Published: October 2019

Abstract: The Inert Gas Condensation method (IGC) produces multimetallic nanoparticles in a metastable state that may exhibit heterogeneities of size, structure and composition. The deposition of IGC-fabricated nanoparticles on substrates allows for a detailed characterization by combination of aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Atom Probe Tomography (APT). Multiple particle monitoring and high-resolution TEM give access to the size distribution of Au-Cu nanoparticles (<10nm in diameter, bimodal distribution). TEM and APT show that the alloying between Cu and Au may stabilize the Ih structure for smaller particles (<4nm). Combining HR-STEM/EDX and 3D composition analysis by APT reveals that an excess of Cu may be present in a shell around the larger particles (>7nm), while Cu is more randomly distributed in smaller particles.

Journal Keywords: Metal nanoparticles; Gold; Nanoparticles; Chemical structure; Transmission electron microscopy

Subject Areas: Chemistry, Materials


Technical Areas:

Added On: 07/10/2019 09:47

Discipline Tags:

Physical Chemistry Chemistry Materials Science Nanoscience/Nanotechnology Metallurgy

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