Stability And Reactivity Of Graphene-Templated Nanoclusters

Exploiting the versatility of the graphene/Ir(111) template, we performed a comparative study on arrays of various metallic nanoclusters. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and synchrotron-based high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we investigated the size dependent stability of Pt, Ir, and Au nanoclusters against sintering upon gas exposure. These clusters display gross differences in their gas adsorption properties, as well as in their activity for the CO oxidation reaction.