Probing Strain in Individual Palladium Nanocrystals during Electrochemically-Induced Phase Transitions

Probing Strain in Individual Palladium Nanocrystals during Electrochemically-Induced Phase Transitions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Probing Strain in Individual Palladium Nanocrystals during Electrochemically-Induced Phase Transitions Frédéric Maillard, Clément Atlan, Corentin Chatelier, Apinya Ngoipala, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5629485/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The palladium-hydrogen system is essential for applications in water electrolysis, catalysis, hydrogen storage, and hydrogen sensing technologies. Understanding the transition of Pd nanocrystals from the hydrogen-poor (α) phase to the hydrogen-rich (β) phase is crucial for elucidating hydrogen absorption/desorption mechanisms, as well as related phenomena such as hydrogen trapping. In this study, we employ in situ Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging (BCDI) to investigate individual palladium nanocrystals,mapping their strain and lattice parameter distributions across electrochemical potentials typical of hydrogen absorption, while avoiding undesired ‘beam effects’. We analyse lattice parameter changes in both α and β phases and observe reversible strain inversion during the α-to-β phase transition. Through strain and reciprocal space analysis, and molecular simulations, we propose a model for the α-to-β phase transition which includes a hydrogen-saturated subsurface shell, hydrogen depletion from the α phase during β nucleation, and propagation of the β phase in a spherical-cap fashion. Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for energy and catalysis/Electrocatalysis Physical sciences/Chemistry/Electrochemistry/Electrocatalysis Pd hydride Phase transition Bragg Coherent X-ray Diffraction Imaging Electrocatalysis Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SI.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5629485","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":398411892,"identity":"ec218657-9320-4ab9-9d4a-8e9f0a143ac7","order_by":0,"name":"Frédéric 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