Guidelines toward reliable facets characterization for structure-sensitive reactions

Abstract

Synthesizing defined facets/morphologies with atomic precise arrangements and testing them to control catalytic activity and selectivity is gaining traction. Researchers from different backgrounds took serious initiatives to explore this young area of research. Since there are no clear guidelines in the literature demonstrating the ideal method (or a method that most approximates reality) in determining the facets of the materials, it can be seen that there are many recent studies which proposed methods that are highly prone to overinterpretation or even wrong, which leads to precarious conclusions in this field. Therefore, it is our aim here to demonstrate the main points of confusion between the definitions and practices. Our contribution concludes with recommendations and an outlook.