Direct observation of sintering in a model oxide supported metal catalyst STM of Pd on WO3(001)

Abstract

Evaporation of Pd onto WO₃(001) at room temperature leads to the formation of metal nanoparticles which can be imaged directly by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). Annealing a surface supporting 20 Å particles to 600 °C leads to agglomeration of the deposited metal. These observations demonstrate that STM provides a real space approach to the investigation of sintering in oxide supported metal catalysts.