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New Delhi : Gold has been a fascinating metal for use in jewellery as well as industrial applications because of its high resistance against conventional oxidizing environments. The unique property of Au is mainly dictated by its atomic arrangement in the crystal structure, technically called face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice.
Scientists have introduced new catalytic properties in gold by altering the most stable fcc lattice, converting it into a new avatar that can trigger gold-based catalysis for industry.
Tuning of crystal structures and shapes of micro-sized noble metals or micro-crystallites have revealed fascinating catalytic, optical, electrical, and magnetic properties that enable developments of environmentally friendly and durable nano-technological applications.
Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, have stabilised gold in non-cubic lattice, unfurling efficient catalytic properties of the metal, according to a PIB release.
The team guided by Prof. G U Kulkarni from JNCASR has stabilised Au in mixed lattices consisting of lower symmetry lattices in the form of micro-crystallites, induced by geometrical constraints. In contrast to conventional bulk fcc gold, these micro-crystallites are more efficient in their catalytic activity. Besides, the crystallites behave nobler than the conventional fcc Au in mercury and aqua regia. Thus, these Au crystallites behave quite differently from our day to day used ones, and the credit goes to the underlying unconventional lattices.
This research published in the journal ‘ACS Nano’ was supported by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India (DST), provided within the framework of the India@Desy collaboration and Nano Mission and the technical support from the EU-Horizon2020 research and innovation programme of Nanoscience Foundries and Fine Analysis (NFFA).
In this work, JNCASR team joined by Prof. M K Sanyal from SINP, Kolkata, used scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy (SXDM) technique with nano-beam at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), PETRA III, Germany, which revealed location of the spatial distribution of the different lattices in the crystallite volume without using any slicing techniques.