Scientists at Sandia are studying how certain chemical reactions happen on surfaces, especially when using special techniques that allows them to see what is occurring while the reactions are taking place. This is important because many experiments are done in very low-pressure environments, which is different from the conditions where these reactions usually occur in real life. Most of the time, researchers look at what is happening on the surface of materials, but they don’t know much about the gases that are close to the surface and how they affect these reactions.
In this study, scientists at Sandia used advanced imaging techniques to see how the amounts of two chemicals, methyl and formaldehyde, change with temperature in the gas right above the surface of a silver catalyst. This catalyst helps speed up the reaction when methanol is partially burned. They found that the amount of methyl gas above the surface changes with temperature in a way that matches what computer models predicted.
By being able to see these gas molecules near the surface, scientists can learn more about how tiny particles called radicals play a role in these chemical reactions. This knowledge could help improve our understanding of many different reactions and conditions in chemistry.
Sandia experts linked to work
- Sebastian Pfaff
- Erxiong Huang
- Jonathan H. Frank
Sponsored by
Publications
Pfaff, S., Huang, E., and Frank, J. H. (2024) “Imaging Gas-Phase Methyl Radicals over a Ag/SiO2 Catalyst during the Partial Oxidation of Methanol,” ACS Catalysis 14(20)15590-15598. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.4c03741
March 3, 2025