PhD Project by Sofie Tidemand-Lichtenberg

Project Title: Atomic Scale Insight into Catalysis with Nanochannels and Microscopy
Group: Molecular Windows
Supervisor: Kristian Mølhave and Christoph Langhammer (Chalmers University)

Project Description
Unique microfabricated fluidic chips used for in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging, and developed at DTU Nanolab, will be used for studying the mechanisms of catalytic reactions at an atomic scale. The fluidic chip will be further developed to trap single metal nanoparticles enabling investigations of reactions occurring on a single particles as opposed to an ensemble which is the standard in research today. This will facilitate research into the catalytic effect and efficiency of the nanoparticles based on their properties; e.g. different crystal planes/structures and/or a more precise dependence on the size and shape of the particles.

In addition to being used for atomic resolution imaging in the TEMs and DTU Nanolab, the project will be conducted in collaboration with the chemical physics group at Chalmers University lead by Christoph Langhammer (Gothenburg, Sweden) where the focus will be on optical detection. In the Langhammer group they have constructed a new setup based on the indirect measurement of the refractive index in combination with a spectrometer. This will enable a determination of the catalytic efficiency on a single nanoparticle basis.

By combining the methods used at DTU Nanolab and the optical microscope at Chalmers University, we can obtain a unique insight into catalytic reactions.

Perspective
The project will provide a deeper insight into the mechanisms that occur during catalytic promoted chemical reaction on a single nanoparticle basis. This can help in optimizing ensemble system used in a large number of industries by favoring certain properties of the metallic nanoparticles during synthesis.