FPU2025 - High entropy alloy nanoparticles for catalysis applications

This work will be focused on the synthesis of high entropy alloys (HEAs) nanoparticles using ultra-high vacuum techniques. HEAs are a relatively new class of materials characterized by their high compositional complexity (at least 5 elements), uniform element distribution and single-phase structure. In form of nanoparticles (NPs), they are of special interest in catalysis. The candidate will learn to fabricate NPs using gas aggregation sources. This will include learning the vacuum principles. In addition, for the characterization of the NPs, the candidate will acquire the competences to be fully autonomous in using an atomic force microscope (AFM), to measure the size of the NPs and density of coverage; in x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) to evaluate the chemical and electronic structure; in the analysis of Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) images, to evaluate the disposition of the elements within the NPs and analysis of SQUID measurements to evaluate the magnetism of the systems fabricated. Apart from this, through collaborations with other research groups, the catalytic activity of the HEA NPs will be tested, focusing on building a device for real-life applications. The host group at ICMM will be LAM (Low Dimensional Advanced Materials), which is specialist in gas aggregation sources. The group has access to three cluster sources from which the HEA nanoparticles will be fabricated. For more details, see annex or contact directly with the researc