Following Ostwald ripening in nanoalloys by high-resolution imaging with single-atom chemical sensitivity

Several studies have shown that substantial compositional changes can occur during the coarsening of bimetallic nanoparticles (CoPt, AuPd). To explain this phenomenon that could dramatically impacts all the technologically relevant properties of nanoalloys, we have exploited the sensitivity of the latest generation of electron microscope to prove that during the beam-induced coarsening of CoPt nanoparticles, the dynamic of atom exchanges between the particles is different for Co and Pt. By distinguishing the chemical nature of individual atoms of Co and Pt, while they are diffusing on a carbon film, we have clearly shown that Co atoms have a higher mobility than Pt atoms because of their higher evaporation rate from the particles. These atomic-scale observations bring the experimental evidence on the origin of the compositional changes in nanoalloys induced by Ostwald ripening mechanisms.