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SUMMARY:Atomic Structure of Nanoparticles and Their Surfaces - Prof. Jian 
 Min Zuo\, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne\, United States of Am
 erica
DTSTART:20080626T110000Z
DTEND:20080626T120000Z
UID:TALK12517@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Jonathan Barnard
DESCRIPTION:The properties of nano-structured materials differ substantial
 ly from those of larger sizes. For example\, metallic nano-particles often
  present structural properties that vary dramatically with size. Transitio
 n metal nano-particles of 1-20 nm in sizes are also used as synthetic cata
 lysts with high turnover and selectivity\, e.g. as catalysts in petroleum-
 based industries. Gold too\, which is chemically inert at macroscopic size
 s\, is catalytically active when its size is reduced to a few nanometres i
 n diameter.\n\nCharacterising the structure of these nano-particles\, in t
 hree-dimensions\, is one of the greatest challenges at present and there i
 s no one\, definitive probe that can provide both atomic resolution and si
 ngle particle discrimination simultaneously. As a consequence\, the struct
 ure of nano-particles\, including surface relaxation and defects\, is poor
 ly understood and rarely studied.\n\nThis talk will present our group effo
 rts to develop electron diffraction-based techniques for the structure det
 ermination of nano-particles. Two approaches have been developed for this:
  Coherent nano-area electron diffraction\, which yields structural informa
 tion from individual nano-crystals\; and in-situ reflection high-energy el
 ectron diffraction (RHEED) which monitors the size dependence of structura
 l transitions. Examples will be given for the study of surface structure i
 n gold nano-crystals and structural transition of silver nano-particles. 
LOCATION:T001 [Tower Seminar Room]\, Materials Science and Metallurgy\, De
 partment of
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