Hydrogen absorption and desorption on Rh nanoparticles revealed by in situ dispersive X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy

To unveil the origin of the hydrogen-storage properties of rhodium nanoparticles (Rh NPs), we investigated the dynamical structural change of Rh NPs using in situ dispersive X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS). The variation of the Rh–Rh interatomic distance and Debye–Waller factor of Rh NPs with a size of 4.0 and 10.5 nm during hydrogen absorption and desorption suggested that they have a different mechanism for hydrogen absorption, which is that the hydrogen absorption on the inner site has a greater contribution than that on a surface for Rh 4.0 nm. In the case of Rh 10.5 nm, it is opposed to Rh 4.0 nm. This study demonstrates a powerful in situ XAFS method for observing small local structural changes of metal nanoparticles and its importance for understanding of the hydrogen-absorption properties of Rh NPs with an interesting hydrogenation mechanism.