Thermal Evolution of Carbon-Supported Pd Nanoparticles Studied by Time-Resolved X-ray Diffraction

Synergetic effect dependence on activated oxygen in the interface of NiOx-modified Pt nanoparticles for the CO oxidation from first-principles

CO oxidation on NiO_x-modified Pt nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated by first-principles calculations and microkinetic methods. The binding energies of O₂ and CO on NiO_x/Pt suggest that CO adsorption is dominant and the CO oxidation mainly follows the Mars-van Krevelen (M-vK) mechanism. It was found that the interfacial O of NiO_x/Pt played a key role in the combination of adsorbed CO to O, as well as the O₂ dissociation. With a lower O vacancy formation energy, NiO_x/Pt_edge shows about four orders higher reaction rates than NiO_x/Pt₍₁₀₀₎. Microkinetic analysis suggests that the rate-determining step also depends on the active O at the interface. The calculations highlight the synergetic effect difference of NiO_x selectively deposited on the different sites of Pt NPs on the CO oxidation from the atomic reaction mechanism, and throws light on the high activity of CO oxidation on partially covered NiO_x/Pt_edge nanoparticles.

Resonant-XRD Characterization of Nanoalloyed Au-Pd Catalysts for the Direct Synthesis of H2O2: Quantitative Analysis of Size Dependent Composition of the Nanoparticles †

The focus of this work is on the relationship between the quantitative structural characterization of bimetallic Au-Pd nanoparticles dispersed in an amorphous polymer matrix and their catalytic activity in the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (DS reaction). Resonant X-ray powder diffraction with synchrotron radiation was employed to probe selectively and to reveal fine details of the structure of bimetallic nanoparticles embedded in the support. The semi-quantitative analysis of the resonant X-ray powdered diffraction data, made on a large number of metal nanoparticles, shows that in one of the polymer-supported Au-Pd catalyst for the DS reaction (P75) featured by an overall molar Pd/Au of about 5.54, the smallest metal nanoparticles (MNPs), which account for more than 99.9% of the total MNPs number and for more than 95% of the metal surface, are formed by practically pure palladium. The relative number of bimetallic alloyed nanoparticles is very small (less than 4 × 102 ppm) and they contribute to only about 2% of the total metal surface. In a second gold-enriched catalyst (P50) with an overall molar Pd/Au of 1.84, the proportion of the bimetallic alloyed nanoparticles increased to about 97% and they account for about 99% of the metal surface. As a result of the metal intermixing, the catalytic productivity for the DS reaction increased from 97 to 109 mmolH2O2/molH2, owing to the gold-promotion of palladium.

The role of destabilization of palladium hydride in the hydrogen uptake of Pd-containing activated carbons

This paper reports on differences in stability of Pd hydride phases in palladium particles with various degrees of contact with microporous carbon supports. A sample containing Pd embedded in activated carbon fibre (2 wt% Pd) was compared with commercial Pd nanoparticles deposited on microporous activated carbon (3 wt% Pd) and with support-free nanocrystalline palladium. The morphology of the materials was characterized by electron microscopy, and the phase transformations were analysed over a large range of hydrogen partial pressures (0.003-10 bar) and at several temperatures using in situ x-ray diffraction. The results were verified with volumetric hydrogen uptake measurements. Results indicate that higher degrees of Pd-carbon contacts for Pd particles embedded in a microporous carbon matrix induce efficient 'pumping' of hydrogen out of beta- PdHx. It was also found that thermal cleaning of carbon surface groups prior to exposure to hydrogen further enhances the hydrogen pumping power of the microporous carbon support. In brief, this study highlights that the stability of beta- PdHx phase supported on carbon depends on the degree of contact between Pd and carbon and on the nature of the carbon surface.

Self-assembled palladium nanoparticles on carbon nanofibers

Carbon nanofibers containing palladium nanoparticles were prepared simply by electrospinning a polymer solution containing palladium chloride and the subsequent thermal treatment in argon. It is demonstrated that palladium oxide formed in air stabilization transforms into nanoparticles through an interaction with carbon materials. Since the palladium nanoparticles covering the outer surface of nanofibers homogeneously are small enough to have high catalytic activity, this material could find applications as efficient catalysts and hydrogen sensors.

Self-generation of tiered surfactant superstructures for one-pot synthesis of Co3O4 nanocubes and their close- and non-close-packed organizations

Self-generation of ionic organic capping from nonionic surfactant polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan trioleate (Tween-85) has been realized for the controlled synthesis of single crystalline Co(3)O(4) quantum dots (3.0-5.7 nm) in cubic morphology from related layered hydroxide precursors at 80-95 degrees C. With chemical modification of hydrophobic functional groups on the surface of Co(3)O(4) nanocubes; furthermore, various nanocube-containing micellar superstructures can be further assembled through hydrophobic interactions between Tween-85 molecules and the surface coating under "one-pot" conditions. In particular, square arrangements, spherical domains, and line-assemblies of the prepared Co(3)O(4) nanocubes and their inter-transformations have been attained for the first time by manipulating intersurfactant-interactions. Hydrolysis of Tween-85 and the resultant tiered surfactant superstructures have been investigated with FTIR/UV-vis/EA/TGA/DTA/XPS methods, and the capping species has been identified to be alkylated oleic carboxylate anions derived from Tween-85. Pronounced quantum confinement effects have been observed with the prepared Co(3)O(4) nanocubes, and the optical band gap energies determined are 3.95 and 2.13 eV, respectively, for O(2-)--> Co(2+) and O(2-)--> Co(3+) charge-transfer processes.