Less and Less Noble: Local Adsorption Properties of Supported Au, Ni, and Pt Nanoparticles

In this work, we studied the local adsorption properties of gold, nickel, and platinum nanoparticles. A correlation was established between the chemical properties of massive and nanosized particles of these metals. The formation of a stable adsorption complex M-A(ads) on the nanoparticles’ surface was described. It was shown that the difference in local adsorption properties is caused by specific contributions of nanoparticle charging, the deformation of its atomic lattice near the M–C interface, and the hybridization of the surface s- and p-states. The contribution of each factor to the formation of the M-A(ads) chemical bond was described in terms of the Newns–Anderson chemisorption model.