Scalable Parallel Screening of Catalyst Activity at the Single-Particle Level and Subdiffraction Resolution

Abstract

High-throughput and quantitative screening of catalyst activity is crucial for guiding the work cycles of catalyst improvements and optimizations. For nanoparticle catalysts, their inherent heterogeneity makes it desirable to screen them at the single-particle level. Here, we report a single-molecule fluorescence microscopy approach that can screen the activity quantitatively of a large number of catalyst particles in parallel at the single-particle level and with subdiffraction spatial resolution. It can identify directly high activity catalyst particles and resolve subpopulations in mixtures of catalysts. It is readily scalable and broadly applicable to heterogeneous catalysts. Using ensemble measurements to establish activity correlations between different reactions, we further show that this approach can be extended to assess catalysts in reactions that do not involve fluorescent molecules. Coupled with high-throughput catalyst preparation and high-resolution structural/compositional analysis, this screening approach has promise in accelerating the development and discovery of new or better catalysts.