Size and Structure of Palladium Clusters Determined by XRD and HREM

Abstract

Scherrer formula is often applied to X-ray-diffraction profiles for the size determination of small size clusters. However, for small clusters this often leads to conflicting results in comparison to other methods. A series of Pd-clusters of different size is studied by X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy. The influence of size and structure on the results is presented and discussed in comparison with theoretical calculations. It will be shown that the different structure of small size systems are one main origin of the conflicts. The structure problem can be overcome by using Fourier Transform of the X-ray diffraction pattern. The importance of the knowledge of the cluster structure was demonstrated by showing its strong influence on the hydrogen solubility.