Effect of metal–support interaction on surface segregation in Pd–Pt nanoparticles

Abstract In this work, we present the results of our Monte Carlo (MC) simulation studies for the segregation behavior of supported, clean and gas-covered Pd–Pt nanoparticles as a function of the metal–support interaction. For preferential Pd–support interaction, the base of the nanoparticle is found to get enriched with Pd atoms; while for preferential interaction of Pt atoms with the support the base gets enriched in Pt. The composition of the rest of the particle changes slightly with the metal–support interaction. The presence of oxygen and hydrogen atoms does not influence the role of the metal–support interaction on the surface composition of Pd–Pt nanoparticles. The simulation results are found to be in total agreement with the known experimental results.