Galvanic replacement reactions provide an elegant way of transforming solid nanoparticles into complex hollow morphologies. Conventionally, galvanic replacement is studied by stopping the reaction at different stages and characterizing the products ex situ. In situ observations by liquid-cell electron microscopy can provide insight into mechanisms, rates and possible modifications of galvanic replacement reactions in the native solution environment. Here we use liquid-cell electron microscopy to investigate galvanic replacement reactions between silver nanoparticle templates and aqueous palladium salt solutions. Our in situ observations follow the transformation of the silver nanoparticles into hollow silverpalladium nanostructures. While the silver-palladium nanocages have morphologies similar to those obtained in ex situ control experiments the reaction rates are much higher, indicating that the electron beam strongly affects the galvanic-type process in the liquid-cell. By using scavengers added to the aqueous solution we identify the role of radicals generated via radiolysis by high-energy electrons in modifying galvanic reactions.

The growth, surface composition, and chemical activity of bimetallic Pt-Au clusters on TiO 2 (110) have been investigated. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments demonstrate that the deposition of Au on Pt clusters results in the formation of bimetallic Pt-Au clusters due to the seeding of the mobile Au atoms at existing Pt nuclei. The composition of the top surface layer of the clusters was studied by low energy ion scattering (LEIS) for bulk compositions ranging from 25%-87.5% Pt with total metal coverages of 0.25 and 0.50 ML. For both coverages, the cluster surfaces consisted of nearly pure Au at Pt compositions of 50% and lower; however, a mix of Au and Pt atoms were found at the cluster surfaces at higher fractions of deposited Pt. These results are consistent with bulk thermodynamics, which predicts a Pt core-Au shell structure based on the lower surface free energy of Au compared to Pt and the large bulk miscibility gap for the two metals. The adsorption of CO on the Pt-Au clusters at room temperature promotes the diffusion of Pt to the surface of the clusters, and this phenomena is most pronounced for the clusters that are initially pure Au at the surface. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that it is thermodynamically favorable for Pt to diffuse to the cluster surface in order to bind to CO. In contrast, the extent of CO 2 production via sequential adsorption of O 2 and CO on the Pt-Au clusters reflects the surface Pt content before adsorption. For CO oxidation, the first step in the reaction is the dissociation of O 2 at Pt sites. Since this process requires more than one contiguous Pt site, it is not surprising that O 2 dissociation cannot occur on the Pt-Au clusters that are ∼100% Au at the surface before CO exposure, given the low probability for ensembles of Pt sites to form at the surface.

The nucleation and growth of Co clusters on vacuum-annealed (reduced) and oxidized TiO 2 (110) have been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and density function theory (DFT) calculations. On vacuum-annealed TiO 2 (110), the Co clusters grow as three-dimensional islands at coverages between 0.02 and 0.25 ML, but the cluster heights range from ∼3 to 5 Å, indicating that the clusters are less than three layers high. In addition to the small cluster sizes, the high nucleation density of the Co clusters and lack of preferential nucleation at the step edges demonstrate that diffusion is slow for Co atoms on the TiO 2 surface. In contrast, deposition of other metals such as Au, Ni, and Pt on TiO 2 results in larger cluster sizes with a smaller number of nucleation sites and preferential nucleation at step edges. XPS experiments show that Co remains in the metallic state, and there is little reduction of the titania surface by Co. A comparison of the metal−titania binding energies calculated by DFT for Co, Au, Ni, and Pt indicates that stronger metal− titania interactions correspond to lower diffusion rates on the surface, as observed by STM. Furthermore, on oxidized TiO 2 surfaces, the diffusion rates of all of the metals decrease, resulting in smaller cluster sizes and higher cluster densities compared to the growth on reduced TiO 2. DFT calculations confirm that the metal−titania adsorption energies are higher on the oxidized surfaces, and this is consistent with the lower diffusion rates observed experimentally.

It has been well established that bimetallic systems can exhibit activity different than that of pure metals, and there are many examples in the catalysis literature illustrating the ability of a second metal to promote the desired catalytic activity and selectivity. 1À6 Consequently, there is much interest in basic understanding of the chemical activity on bimetallic surfaces in order to develop catalysts with properties that can be tuned by changing compositions. In some cases, reactions are promoted via a bifunctional mechanism, in which the reaction requires the different activities provided by each metal. 7À12 Furthermore, electronic effects associated with the formation of new me-talÀmetal bonds may alter surface chemical properties, such as CO adsorption strength, 6,13À16 hydrogenation activity, 3,17À19 dehydrogenation activity, 20,21 and reforming selectivity. 3,22,23 Bimetallic surfaces may also provide mixed-metal sites with activity different from that of the pure metal sites, such as on the SnÀPt alloy surfaces. 24À26 In addition, interactions between the metal clusters and the oxide support may also be used to control surface chemistry on the clusters, with lattice oxygen participating in reactions on the oxide-supported clusters. For example, atomic carbon on Ni clusters recombine with lattice oxygen from the titania support to produce gaseous CO, 27,28 and gaseous products containing lattice oxygen are observed in reactions on metal clusters supported on ceria. 29À34 Also for noble metals on ceria supports, ceria plays an important role in oxygen storage in the three-way catalysts for the conversion of CO, NO x , and hydrocarbons into CO 2 , water, and N 2 . 35À37 In other cases, it has been reported that chemical activity occurs at metal clusterÀoxide interfacial sites. 29,38À42 In order to probe the nature of metalÀmetal and metalÀsupport interactions, we have chosen to study a model system consisting of vapor-deposited NiÀAu bimetallic clusters supported on rutile TiO 2 (110). In this model system, the relationships between morphology, composition, and chemical activity can be explored on a fundamental level. The AuÀtitania system is one of chemical interest due to the unusual catalytic properties of

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The nucleation, growth, and CO-induced changes in composition for Co–Au bimetallic clusters deposited on TiO2(110) have been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low energy ion scattering (LEIS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. STM experiments show that the mobility of Co atoms on TiO2(110) is significantly lower than of Au atoms; for equivalent or lower coverages of Co, the number of clusters is higher and the average cluster height is smaller than for Au deposition. Consequently, bimetallic clusters are formed by first depositing the less mobile Co atoms, followed by the addition of the more mobile Au atoms. Furthermore, the reverse deposition of Au followed by Co results in clusters of pure Co coexisting with clusters that are Au-rich. For clusters with a total coverage of 0.25 ML, the cluster density increases and average cluster height decreases as the fraction of Co is increased. Annealing to 800 K results in cluster sintering and an increase of ∼3–5 Å in average height for all compositions. LEIS experiments indicate that the surfaces of the bimetallic clusters are 80–100% Au for bulk Au fractions greater than 50%, but Co and Au coexist at the surfaces when there are not enough Au atoms available to completely cover the surfaces of the clusters. After heating to 800 K, pure Co clusters become partially encapsulated by titania, and for bimetallic clusters, the Co is selectively encapsulated at the cluster surface. The desorption of CO from the bimetallic clusters demonstrates that the presence of the CO adsorbate induces diffusion of Co to the cluster surface, but the extent of this diffusion is less than what is observed in the Ni–Au and Pt–Au systems. Density functional theory calculations confirm that for a 50% Co/50% Au bimetallic structure: the surface is predominantly Au in the absence of CO; CO induces diffusion of Co to the cluster surface; and this CO-induced diffusion is less extensive on Co–Au than on the Ni–Au and Pt–Au surfaces.

The decomposition of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) was studied by temperature programmed desorption (TPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) on TiO(2)-supported Pt, Au, and Au-Pt clusters as well as on TiO(2)(110) itself. In agreement with previous work, TPD experiments for DMMP on TiO(2)(110) showed that methyl and methane were the main gaseous products. Multiple DMMP adsorption-reaction cycles on TiO(2)(110) demonstrated that active sites for DMMP decomposition were blocked after a single cycle, but some activity for methyl production was sustained even after five cycles. Furthermore, the activity of the TiO(2) surface could be regenerated by heating in O(2) at 800 K or heating in vacuum to 965 K to remove surface carbon and phosphorus, which are byproducts of DMMP decomposition. On 0.5 ML Pt clusters deposited on TiO(2)(110), TPD studies of DMMP reaction showed that CO and H(2) were the main gas products, with methyl and methane as minor products. The Pt clusters were more active than TiO(2) both in terms of the total amount of DMMP reaction and the ability to break C-H, P-O, and P-OCH(3) bonds in DMMP. However, the Pt clusters had no sustained activity for DMMP decomposition, since the product yields dropped to zero after a single adsorption-reaction cycle. This loss of activity is attributed to a combination of poisoning of active sites by surface phosphorus species and encapsulation of the Pt clusters by reduced titania after heating above 600 K due to strong metal support interactions (SMSI). On 0.5 ML Au clusters, CO and H(2) were also the main products detected in TPD experiments, in addition to methane and methyl produced from reaction on the support. The Au clusters were less active for DMMP decomposition to CO and H(2) as well as P-O bond scission, but surface phosphorus was removed from the Au clusters by desorption at approximately 900 K. Au-Pt bimetallic clusters on TiO(2)(110) were prepared by depositing 0.25 ML of Pt followed by 0.25 ML of Au, and the bimetallic surfaces exhibited activity intermediate between that of pure Pt and pure Au in terms of CO and H(2) desorption yields. However, there is evidence that the production of methane from DMMP decomposition occurs at Au-Pt sites.

The surface composition and properties of PtAu and Ni-Au clusters on TiO 2 (110) have been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low energy ion scattering (LEIS) and soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (sXPS). STM studies show that bimetallic clusters are formed during sequential deposition of the two metals, regardless of the order of deposition. At the 2 ML of Au/ 2 ML of Pt or Ni coverages studied here, the second metal contributes to the growth of existing clusters rather than forming new pure metal clusters. LEIS experiments demonstrate that the surfaces of the bimetallic clusters are almost 100%