Propanol-Triggered Luminescence for Rapid Screening of Crystal Facets in Noble Metal

The rapid and effective recognition techniques for crystal facets in noble metal nanocrystals (NCs) are highly desirable in evaluation of their catalytic performances. Herein, it was found that the variation trend of cataluminescence (CTL) intensity in the presence of propanol was proportional to the crystal facets index change of LDH-supported Pd@Au NCs. The mechanism investigation for the propanol-triggered CTL on the surface of layered double hydroxide (LDH)-supported Pd@Au NCs revealed that the abundant negative charge in the high-index facets of LDH-supported Pd@Au NCs facilitated electron transfer between NCs and volatile propanol, resulting in acceleration of the CTL reactions. Accordingly, the propanol-triggered CTL can be as an indicator for rapid screening of crystal facets in NCs. Its universality had further been verified by screening crystal facets in LDH-supported Pd NCs. The crystal facets detected by propanol CTL probe were well-matched with those obtained by conventional high-resolution transmission electron microscope. The proposed CTL strategy exhibits some advantages, such as convenient operation, rapid response, long-term stability, and low cost. And it is expected crystal facets of other kinds of NCs could be screened by replaceable CTL probe.