Direct atomic-scale investigation of the coarsening mechanisms of exsolved catalytic Ni nanoparticles.

Published 24 July 2025

Electrocatalytic nanoparticles for application in energy conversion systems can be generated by metal exsolution processes. In our new publication, we are following the dynamics of these nanoparticles as they grow and coalesce with atomic resolution. Based on a strong collaboration with electron microscopy experts at the Ernst Ruska Center, led by Dr. Dylan Jennings, IET-3, and University of Stuttgart, we employ in-situ electron microscopy to follow the growth and migration of the nanoparticle and reveal concomitant processes of particle migration and Ostwald ripening that determine the thermal stability of the nanoparticles under operation conditions.

Autors: Dylan Jennings, Moritz L. Weber, Ansgar Meise, Tobias Binninger, Conor J. Price, Moritz Kindelmann, Ivar Reimanis, Hiroaki Matsumoto, Pengfei Cao, Regina Dittmann, Piotr M. Kowalski, Marc Heggen, Olivier Guillon, Joachim Mayer, Felix Gunkel, Wolfgang Rheinheimer

Nature Communication 16, 6830 (24 July 2025) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61971-z

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Dr. Felix Gunkel

Prof. Dr. Regina Dittmann