Leading Scientist to Discuss New Instrument for Controlling the Size of Nanoclusters

Melissa Patterson, a W. Burghardt Turner Fellow at Stony Brook University (SBU), will give a talk at the American Chemical Society’s national meeting in Philadelphia on controlling the size of nanoclusters, research she performed using a new instrument at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Melissa Patterson

Built by Brookhaven Lab and SBU scientists, the instrument enables researchers to make nanoclusters of 10 to 100 atoms with atomic precision.

Patterson and her Brookhaven colleagues created model nanocatalysts of molybdenum sulfide, the first step in developing the next generation of materials to be used in hydrodesulfurization, a process that removes sulfur, a pollutant, from natural gas and petroleum products. They made size-selected molybdenum sulfide nanoclusters as gaseous ions, and deposited them on a gold surface, which interacts weakly with the gold support, leaving the nanoclusters intact.

“We learned that even though we were using the same molecule — all were composed of molybdenum and sulfur — size and structure is important in determining reactivity,” Patterson said. “The most reactive nanocluster of those that we tested had six atoms of molybdenum and eight atoms of sulfur. It readily absorbed sulfur and let go of carbon monoxide, which makes it an effective catalyst.”

Brookhaven Lab chemist Michael White and Brookhaven research associates YongMan Choi and Ping Liu collaborated with Patterson on this work. DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences, within the Office of Science, funded this research through the Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology Initiative.

Patterson’s talk, titled “Size-selected deposition of transition metal sulfides: Insights toward model systems in catalysis,” is scheduled to be given on Tuesday, August 19, from 1:20 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Loews, Room: Regency C1.
 

For more information on nanotechnology, click here.

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this news story?

Leave your feedback
Your comment type
Submit

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.