In-situ XAS and XRD investigation of the formation mechanism of M-Ga (M=Cu, Ag, Au, Fe, Co, Sn) nanoparticles.

Liquid metal nanoparticles (LM NPs), combining metallic and liquid properties, hold promise in diverse fields such as biomedicine, electronics, and catalysis. Yet, their formation chemistry is poorly understood, hindering NP design. In recent years, our group contributed to fill this knowledge gap, showcasing Ga NPs as CO2 reduction catalyst. Still, selectivity could be enhanced with greater compositional and structural tunability. We have recently pioneered a method to synthesize a library of Ga-based multimetallic NPs enclosing a crystalline M-Ga core (M=Cu, Ag, Au, Fe, Co, Sn) within liquid Ga NPs. Yet, questions about solid nucleation within a liquid NP and their interfacial behavior persist. Ex-situ investigations face limitations due to Ga’s propensity for oxidation. This proposal aims at using Xray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), a combination of which is uniquely available at BM31, to study in-situ the formation mechanism of these multimetallic NPs.