Single-Particle Imaging Maps Bulk Catalyst Oxygen Spillover

Researchers have used in situ microscopic single-particle imaging to directly observe how metal, support interfaces control oxygen spillover through the bulk of a catalyst, with findings published in Nature on 15 April 2026. The work addresses a long-standing gap in understanding how oxygen stored within a catalyst's bulk structure is activated and mobilized during chemical reactions. The metal, support interface, the contact zone between a metal particle and its underlying support material, had been theorized as a key activation site, but direct visual evidence at the single-particle level was lacking. By engineering these interfaces in a controlled manner and imaging them in real time under reaction conditions, the study maps the precise pathway oxygen takes from the catalyst bulk to the active surface. The practical consequence reaches catalytic converter design, fuel cell catalysts, and industrial oxidation processes, where controlling oxygen availability directly governs selectivity, efficiency, and catalyst longevity. Interface engineering now emerges as a tractable design variable rather than an empirical tuning parameter.