Aggregation parent metal particles

The accessibility of new techniques such as EXAFS brings researchers a powerful tool for unambiguous determination of the true core metallic framework of such systems. Thus, the relationship between the parent carbonyl precursor, the support and the final metal-supported particles has been studied at the structural atomic level in some cases. This can allow differentiation of the catalytic behavior of supported metal particles with bulk-like properties from that of supported metal clusters, opening the way to understanding the mechanism of metal-catalyzed reactions and extending the concept of sensitive or insensitive structure reactions from metal aggregates to clusters. 

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