Studies on the Morphology Effect on Catalytic Ability of a Single MnO 2 Catalyst Particle with a Solid Nanopipette.

Investigating the catalytic ability of an individual catalyst particle helps to understand heterogeneity and can provide new insights into the synthesis of high-efficiency catalysts. Solid-state nanopores have become a promising tool for detecting single molecules/particles due to their high temporal and spatial resolution. Here, we report a nanopore-based strategy for the evaluation and comparison of a single MnO 2 catalyst particle with different morphologies by monitoring the generated O 2 bubbles from the catalytic decomposition of H 2 O 2 . The finite element simulation was introduced to account for the flow velocity and bubble-induced current variation in the nanopore. In particular, the differences in catalytic ability of spherical and cubic MnO 2 have been studied by calculating the production rate and volume of O 2 . It demonstrates that the shape of a single MnO 2 catalyst particle has a significant effect on its catalytic activity indeed.