ABSTRACT:We investigated changes in the Pt-Pt bond distance, particle size, crystallinity, and coordination of Pt nanoparticles as a function of particle size (1-3 nm) and adsorbate (H 2 , CO) using synchrotron radiation pair distribution function (PDF) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements. The ~1 nm Pt nanoparticles showed a Pt-Pt bond distance contraction of ~1.4%. The adsorption of H 2 and CO at room temperature relaxed the Pt-Pt bond distance contraction to a value close to that of bulk fcc Pt. The adsorption of H 2 improved the crystallinity of the small Pt nanoparticles. However, CO adsorption generated a more disordered fcc structure for the 1-3 nm Pt nanoparticles compared to the H2 adsorption Pt nanoparticles. In situ XANES measurements revealed that this disorder results from the electron back donation of the Pt nanoparticles to CO, leading to a higher degree of rehybridization of the metal orbitals in the Ptadsorbate system.