Tuning the Potential Energy Landscape to Suppress Ostwald Ripening in Surface-Supported Catalyst Systems

Rational control of nanoparticle (NP) size distribution during operation is crucial to improve catalytic performance and noble metal sustainability. Herein, we explore the Ostwald ripening (OR) of metal atoms on zeolite surfaces by a coupled theoretical-experimental approach. Zeolites with the same structure (ZSM-5) but different concentrations of aluminum doped into the matrix were observed to yield systematic differences in supported nanoparticle size distributions. Our first-principles simulations suggest that NP stability at high temperature is governed by both geometric constraints and the roughness of the energetic landscape. Calculated adatom migration paths across the zeolite surface and desorption paths from the supported NPs lend insight into the modified OR sintering processes with the emergence of different binding configurations as the aluminum concentration increases from pristine to heavily doped ZSM-5. These findings reveal the potential for the rational design of support structures to suppress OR sintering.