“非保护型”金属胶体纳米簇形成机理研究

碱-乙二醇法制备的"非保护型"金属及合金纳米簇由表面吸附的溶剂分子和简单离子实现稳定化,它们被广泛用于制备高性能复相催化剂和研究复相催化剂中的尺寸、组成、载体表面基团以及修饰剂对催化性能的影响。关于此类非保护金属纳米簇的形成过程及机理的认识尚有待进一步深化。本文采用原位快速扫描X射线吸收精细结构谱(QXAFS)、原位紫外-可见(UV-Vis)吸收光谱、透射电子显微镜和动态光散射技术研究了碱-乙二醇法合成中非保护型金属胶体纳米簇的形成过程与机理。结果表明,在碱-乙二醇法合成非保护型Pt金属纳米簇的过程中,室温下即有部分Pt(IV)被还原至Pt(II)。随着反应温度的升高,OH-逐渐取代与Pt离子配位的Cl-,在Pt―Pt键形成之前,反应体系的UV-Vis吸收光谱中可观察到明显的纳米粒子的散射信号,原位QXAFS分析表明Pt纳米簇是由Pt氧化物纳米粒子还原所形成的;在Ru金属纳米簇的形成过程中,OH-首先取代了Ru Cl_3中的Cl~-,形成羟基配合物Ru(OH) _6~(3-),后者进一步缩合形成氧化钌纳米粒子,最终Ru金属纳米簇由乙二醇还原氧化钌纳米粒子形成。由于先形成了氧化物纳米粒子,后续的还原反应被限制在氧化物纳米粒子内,使最终得到的非保护型金属纳米簇具有尺寸小、分布窄的特点。本工作所获得的知识对发展高性能能源转化催化剂、精细化学合成催化剂、传感器等功能体系具有重要意义。

Insight into the Formation Mechanism of "Unprotected" Metal Nanoclusters

"Unprotected" metal and alloy nanoclusters prepared using the alkaline-ethylene glycol method (AEGM), stabilized by adsorbed solvent molecules and simple ions, have been widely applied in the development of high-performance heterogeneous catalysts and the exploration of the effects of metal particle size and composition, surface ligands of support, and modifiers on the catalytic properties of heterogeneous catalysts. The formation process and mechanism of such unprotected metal nanoclusters need to be further investigated. In this study, the formation process and mechanism of unprotected Pt and Ru nanoclusters prepared with AEGM were investigated by in situ quick X-ray absorption fine spectroscopy (QXAFS), in situ ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering. It was discovered that during the formation of unprotected Pt nanoclusters, a portion of Pt(Ⅳ) species was reduced to Pt(Ⅱ) species at room temperature. With increasing temperature, Cl^- coordinated to Pt ions was gradually replaced with OH^- to form intermediate platinum complexes, which further condensated to form colloidal nanoparticles. Obvious scattering signals of the colloidal nanoparticles could be observed in the UV-Vis absorption spectra of the reaction system before the formation of Pt-Pt bonds, as revealed by QXAFS measurements. In situ QXAFS analysis revealed that Pt nanoclusters were derived from the reduction of Pt oxide nanoparticles. The average particle size of the nanoparticles obtained by heating the reaction mixture for 15 min at 80 ℃ was 3.7 nm. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images showed that the spacing between the crystal planes of the nanoparticles was 0.249 nm, indicating that the intermediate nanoparticles were platinum oxide. As the reaction proceeded, the average size of the nanoparticles decreased to 2.4 nm, and two types of nanoparticles were observed having different contrasts, corresponding to Pt metal nanoclusters standing on the intermediate metal oxide nanoparticles as confirmed by HRTEM images. When the reaction time was further extended, the average size of nanoparticles decreased to 1.4 nm, and the observed lattice spacing of the nanoparticles was the same as that of Pt(111) crystal plane at 0.227 nm, indicating that the final products were Pt metal nanoclusters. In general, when metal oxides are reduced to metal nanoclusters, the density of the nanoparticles will increase, whereas the volume will decrease. Moreover, as shown in this study, the formation of multiple small metal nanoclusters standing on one metal oxide nanoparticle was also observed in TEM photographs. Thus, compared with the size of the initial nanoparticles, the average size of the final metal nanoclusters was significantly reduced. On the other hand, during the formation of unprotected Ru metal nanoclusters, Cl^- in RuCl₃ was first replaced with OH^- to form Ru(OH)₆^3-, which further condensated to form Ru oxide nanoparticles, and unprotected Ru metal nanoclusters were derived from the reduction of Ru oxide nanoparticles by ethylene glycol. Because of the formation of intermediate metal oxide nanoparticles in the reaction process, the subsequent rapid reduction reaction was confined to the nanoparticles, resulting in unprotected metal nanoclusters having a small size and narrow particle size distribution. This study is of significance to the development of high-performance energy conversion catalysts, fine chemical synthesis catalysts, sensors, and other functional systems.