Nanoalloys in catalysis

Abstract Heterogeneous catalysis has been traditionally one of the most important fields for the application of nanoalloys. This stems from the fact that heterogeneous catalysis is a surface phenomenon, which is better accomplished in systems with large surface-to-volume ratios, and that in bi- or multimetallic systems synergistic effect may arise from the interplay of the different atomic species. Here we focus on the main effects related to nanoalloy catalysis, that is, the size, the alloying and the strain effect, treating paradigmatic examples in which these effects have been observed.