I use pure metals and alloys as catalysts for my reaction. They are unsupported and in bulk phase. If it has a low melting point I coat them on glass tubes or use wires if they have a high melting point. Is there anyone else who use them directly as catalysts? Any technique for pre or post characterization should work as my target is to provide more information about the metal by comparing the pre and post characterization. I'm aware about XPS and SEM analysis.