Oxygen assisted reconstructions of rhodium and platinum nanocrystals and their effects on local catalytic activity of hydrogenation reactions

- Morphological changes of single nanoparticles occur during exposure to reactive gases.
- The reconstructions are imaged operando by field emission techniques.
- On rhodium, reconstructions have only a limited influence on the structure sensitivity of the O2-H2 reaction at T > 500 K.
- On platinum, the NO2-H2 reaction occurs first on {0 1 1} facets, whereas (0 0 1) plane becomes active as the reconstruction proceeds.