  Carbon-supported nanoparticles have been used widely as efficient catalysts
due to their enhanced surface-to-volume ratio. To investigate their
structure-property relationships, acquiring 3D elemental distribution is highly
required. Here, the carbon-supported Pt, PtMn alloy, and ordered Pt3Mn
nanoparticles are synthesized and analyzed with atom probe tomography as model
systems. The significant difference of Mn distribution after the heat-treatment
was found. Finally, the field evaporation behavior of the carbon support was
discussed and each acquired reconstruction was compared with computational
results from the evaporation simulation. This paper provides a guideline for
studies using atom probe tomography on the heterogeneous carbon-nanoparticle
system that leads to insights toward to a wide application in carbon-supported
nano-catalysts.
