Lifted reconstruction as a feedback mechanism in the oscillating CO oxidation on Pt nanofacets: Microscopic evidences

Global and local oscillations in the CO oxidation reaction have been visualized in situ on the apex of a [1 0 0]-oriented Pt field emitter tip used as a well-defined model for catalytically active, nm-sized particles by Field Emission (FEM) and Lithium Field Desorption (Li-FDM) Microscopes. For the first time experimental evidence is provided that the reconstruction feedback mechanism of the self-maintained oscillations for the [1 0 0] and [1 1 0] orientations, which is well established on macroscopic single crystals, is also valid in the heterogeneous, nm-sized system with its different crystallographic orientations which are coupled by surface diffusion.