Trapping of a single particle

If deactivation of black-oil conversion catalysts is a result of pore plugging, two mechanisms are plausible. Pore plugging by dissolved metals proceeds by successive decomposition of molecules of a metal organic complex until a plug develops by accretion. Pore plugging by particulates is accomplished by the trapping of a single particle or a small number of particles in a pore of a size comparable with the particle diameter. 

Er, Eu, and Tb containing silica spheres have been considered in Ref. [65] for that application. Optical tweezers nanothermometry (OTN) was explored with the simultaneous optical trapping and photoluminescence excitation of the submicrometric spheres. Optical tweezers allow the use of a single particle whose position over the system to be thermally imaged can be controlled by optical forces. In this way the trapping of a single particle by a laser beam was demonstrated. Sensitivity to temperature was demonstrated in Eu ,... 

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