Eleonora Spurio, Giovanni Bertoni, Sergio D'Addato, Francesca Alimonti and Paola Luches
{"title":"Mapping the local stoichiometry in Cu nanoparticles during controlled oxidation by STEM-EELS spectral imaging†","authors":"Eleonora Spurio, Giovanni Bertoni, Sergio D'Addato, Francesca Alimonti and Paola Luches","doi":"10.1039/D4NR04341C","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p >Copper nanoparticles (NPs) can be coupled with cuprous oxide, combining photoelectrocatalytic properties with a broad-range optical absorption. In the present study, we aimed to correlate changes in morphology, electronic structure and plasmonic properties of Cu NPs at different stages of oxidation. We demonstrated the ability to monitor the oxidation of NPs at the nanometric level using STEM-EELS spectral maps, which were analyzed with machine learning algorithms. The oxidation process was explored by exposing Cu NPs to air plasma, revealing systematic changes in their morphology and composition. Initial plasma exposure created a Cu<small><sub>2</sub></small>O shell, while prolonged exposure resulted in hollow structures with a CuO shell. This study identified procedures to obtain a material with Cu<small><sub>2</sub></small>O surface stoichiometry and absorption extended into the near-infrared range. Moreover, this study introduced a novel application of machine learning clustering techniques to analyze the morphological and chemical evolution of a nanostructured sample.</p>","PeriodicalId":92,"journal":{"name":"Nanoscale","volume":" 7","pages":" 4132-4141"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/nr/d4nr04341c?page=search","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nanoscale","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/nr/d4nr04341c","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Copper nanoparticles (NPs) can be coupled with cuprous oxide, combining photoelectrocatalytic properties with a broad-range optical absorption. In the present study, we aimed to correlate changes in morphology, electronic structure and plasmonic properties of Cu NPs at different stages of oxidation. We demonstrated the ability to monitor the oxidation of NPs at the nanometric level using STEM-EELS spectral maps, which were analyzed with machine learning algorithms. The oxidation process was explored by exposing Cu NPs to air plasma, revealing systematic changes in their morphology and composition. Initial plasma exposure created a Cu2O shell, while prolonged exposure resulted in hollow structures with a CuO shell. This study identified procedures to obtain a material with Cu2O surface stoichiometry and absorption extended into the near-infrared range. Moreover, this study introduced a novel application of machine learning clustering techniques to analyze the morphological and chemical evolution of a nanostructured sample.
期刊介绍:
Nanoscale is a high-impact international journal, publishing high-quality research across nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nanoscale publishes a full mix of research articles on experimental and theoretical work, including reviews, communications, and full papers.Highly interdisciplinary, this journal appeals to scientists, researchers and professionals interested in nanoscience and nanotechnology, quantum materials and quantum technology, including the areas of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, materials, energy/environment, information technology, detection science, healthcare and drug discovery, and electronics.