A general synthesis approach for supported bimetallic nanoparticles via surface inorganometallic chemistry

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 362; no. 6414; pp. 560 - 564
• Main Authors: Ding, Kunlun, Cullen, David A, Zhang, Laibao, Cao, Zhi, Roy, Amitava D, Ivanov, Ilia N, Cao, Dongmei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 02.11.2018; AAAS
• Subjects: Acetylene; Adsorption; Alloying; Ammonia; Anions; Bimetals; Catalysis; Catalysts; Cations; Chemical synthesis; Constituents; Heavy metals; Hydrogen storage; Hydrogenation; INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; Metals; Nanoparticles; Organic chemistry; Organic solvents; Palladium; Platinum; Salts; Silica; Silicon dioxide; Stoichiometry; Substrates; Surface chemistry; Synergistic effect
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.aau4414

The synthesis of ultrasmall supported bimetallic nanoparticles (between 1 and 3 nanometers in diameter) with well-defined stoichiometry and intimacy between constituent metals remains a substantial challenge. We synthesized 10 different supported bimetallic nanoparticles via surface inorganometallic chemistry by decomposing and reducing surface-adsorbed heterometallic double complex salts, which are readily obtained upon sequential adsorption of target cations and anions on a silica substrate. For example, adsorption of tetraamminepalladium(II) [Pd(NH ) ] followed by adsorption of tetrachloroplatinate [PtCl ] was used to form palladium-platinum (Pd-Pt) nanoparticles. These supported bimetallic nanoparticles show enhanced catalytic performance in acetylene selective hydrogenation, which clearly demonstrates a synergistic effect between constituent metals.