In situ characterization of catalytic activity of graphene stabilized small-sized Pd nanoparticles for CO oxidation.

Highlights: [•] Pd-nanoparticle–graphene hybrid is simply prepared by room-temperature ionic liquid assisted sputtering method. [•] The supported Pd nanoparticles have high loading density and uniformly small sizes of 1–2nm. [•] The hybrid is in situ characterized by the surface-sensitive ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. [•] The Pd-nanoparticle–graphene hybrid shows high catalytic activity for CO oxidation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]