Researchers from the University of York have developed a new way of 'seeing' atoms which could improve the development of high-tech fuel cells and catalytic systems, it was confirmed yesterday (23rd December).

A team of scientists from the institution's £5.5-million York JEOL Nanocentre have been making use of its powerful aberration-corrected microscope to aid their tests on nanomaterials.

The microscope enables humans to be able to view reactions in dynamic matter at the Angstrom scale - which represents one-tenth of a nanometre - thus offering a better comprehension of how surface-altering modifications occur.

Professor Edward Boyes and Professor Pratibha Gai, one of the centre's Directors, looked at how coarsening operates in bimetallic platinum and palladium nanoparticles on carbon supports in fuel cell devices.

They decided to study changes in crystallographic phases in 'living' catalytic reactions, thus inverting the traditional approach of compiling before and after assessments of extracted static (or 'dead') samples.

The results proved to be interesting as by using the Angstrom scale, they revealed previously unknown alterations in the support nanostructures which affect the reactions.

The research has been given several awards and has been published in the Congress proceedings and leading journal Microscopy Research and Technique.

Source:

Nanocentre researchers peer into the atomic future (23/12/08)
http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/presspr/pressreleases/atoms.htm