Ultrafine nickel particles generated by laser-induced gas phase photonucleation

A UV laser-assisted gas phase photonucleation process is used to generate nickel ultrafine particles(UFPs) from ambient temperature Ni(CO) 4 precursor. The nanostructure and morphology of the UFPs are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Using ethane hydrogenolysis to probe the reactivity of the nickel UFPs as heterogeneous catalysts, we find that these UFPs show high reactivity and extraordinary resistance to deactivation. XRD analysis reveals a hexagonal Ni 3C phase in those UFPs that were used to catalyze the ethane hydrogenolysis reaction in excess ethane.