By modifying the rate at which chemical reactions take place, nanoparticle catalysts fulfill myriad roles in industry, the biomedical arena, and everyday life. They may be used for the production of polymers and biofuels, improving pollution and emission control devices, synthesizing new drugs, and enhancing reactions essential for fuel cell technology. Finding new and more effective nanoparticle catalysts to perform these useful functions is therefore vital.

Now Nongjian (NJ) Tao, a researcher at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, has found a clever way to measure catalytical reactions of single nanoparticles and multiple particles printed in arrays, which will help characterize and improve existing nanoparticle catalysts, and advance the search for new ones.

Using plasmonic electrochemical current imaging, Tao’s group examined the electrocatalytic activity of platinum nanoparticles printed in a microarray on a gold thin-film electrode, demonstrating for the first time the feasibility of high-throughput screening of the catalytic activities of nanoparticles.

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