Preferential oxidation of CO based on electro-thermally assisted catalytic Ni/Cu nanostructures on Si micro-grass

We propose a novel electro-thermal method to fabricate catalytic structures for preferential oxidation of carbon-monoxide (CO) based on nickel and copper nanostructures formed on tip of textured silicon micro-grasses. The silicon surface is textured to realize micro- and nano-structures using a reactive ion etching (RIE) process followed by electron-beam deposition of a thin layer of Ni or Cu. The formation of catalytic nano-sized structures is achieved by applying a DC voltage in a chamber with hydrogen flow. The conversion efficiency has been examined and various parameters involved in this phenomenon have been studied.