Phys.org May 9, 2022
A team of researchers in the US (University of Minnesota, UMass Amherst, UC Santa Barbara) has invented a device called catalytic condenser that allowed them to tune the number of electrons at the surface of the catalyst converting one metal to behave like another. They fabricated the catalytic condenser by combining nano-scale film of alumina with graphene, which could be electronically tuned. The condenser uses a combination of nanometer films to move and stabilize electrons at the surface of the catalyst. The power of the device to stabilize electrons is tunable with varying composition of a strongly insulating internal layer. The device’s active layer also can incorporate any base catalyst material with additional additives, that can then be tuned to achieve the properties of expensive catalytic materials. The invention opens the door for new catalytic technologies using non-precious metal catalysts for important applications…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Graphical abstract. Credit: JACS Au 2022, XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX, May 7, 2022Â