Bulk characterization of a solid provides us with a spatially-averaged description of its physical and chemical properties. These properties are not site-specific, but they are critical for categorizing materials and understanding their catalytic performance. Important bulk chemical properties include elemental composition, crystal structure, atomic coordination environment, and the oxidation states of elements comprising the catalyst. Significant physical properties include accessible surface area, pore volume, pore diameter, and particle size distributions that exist at the various length scales of catalysis. Each physicochemical property is sensitive to the conditions employed for catalyst synthesis, storage, pre-treatment, activation, and characterization. Thus, it is imperative that authors fully describe materials and methods in publications as this metadata provides context for observed phenomena and allows others to recreate the exact conditions that are essential for reproducibility. Such protocols are necessary for a meaningful interpretation of differences in catalyst performance observed across laboratories. This perspective article defines bulk characterization, provides guidance on bulk characterization methods, and emphasizes important considerations and best practices. Our aim is to build a more nuanced understanding of catalyst characterization. We hope that awareness and application of the principles outlined herein will improve rigor and reproducibility in catalysis science.

中文翻译：

---

本体催化剂性能表征的最佳实践

固体的整体表征为我们提供了其物理和化学性质的空间平均描述。这些特性并不针对具体位置，但它们对于材料分类和了解其催化性能至关重要。重要的本体化学性质包括元素组成、晶体结构、原子配位环境以及构成催化剂的元素的氧化态。重要的物理性质包括在不同催化长度尺度上存在的可及表面积、孔体积、孔径和粒度分布。每种物理化学性质都对催化剂合成、储存、预处理、活化和表征所采用的条件敏感。因此，作者必须在出版物中充分描述材料和方法，因为这些元数据为观察到的现象提供了背景，并允许其他人重新创建对于再现性至关重要的确切条件。这些协议对于有意义地解释不同实验室观察到的催化剂性能差异是必要的。这篇透视文章定义了批量表征，提供了批量表征方法的指导，并强调了重要的考虑因素和最佳实践。我们的目标是对催化剂表征建立更细致的理解。我们希望对本文概述的原理的认识和应用将提高催化科学的严谨性和可重复性。