A Reactive Oxide Overlayer on Rhodium Nanoparticles during CO Oxidation and Its Size Dependence Studied by In Situ Ambient‐Pressure X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Abstract

The smaller, the better: In situ synchrotron ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy allows examination of the oxidation state of the surface of the rhodium nanoparticles (NPs) during CO oxidation in an O2 atmosphere. 2 nm NPs oxidize to a larger extent than 7 nm NPs during reaction at 150–200 °C, which correlates with a fivefold increase in turnover frequency for the smaller nanoparticles.