Ionic Liquid Assisted Synthesis of Au–Pd Bimetallic Particles with Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity

Morphology‐ and composition‐controlled synthesis of Au–Pd bimetallic particles was realized by a facile ionic liquid assisted route at room temperature. The morphologies of the synthesized particles, such as nanoflake‐constructed spheres with a core–shell structure, nanoparticle‐constructed spheres, and nanoparticle‐constructed dendrites, could be well controlled by the present route. The ionic liquid was found to play a key role in the formation of these interesting particles. Moreover, the composition (Au:Pd) of the particles could be modulated by means of the molar ratio of the metal precursors in the feeding solutions. The Au–Pd bimetallic particles exhibit high electrocatalytic activity toward oxidation of ethanol and formic acid. Furthermore, cyclic voltammetric studies on the as‐prepared Au–Pd bimetallic particles revealed good electroactivity for H₂O₂, which results in an effective amperometric H₂O₂ sensor.     

Development of Palladium Surface‐Enriched Heteronuclear Au–Pd Nanoparticle Dehalogenation Catalysts in an Ionic Liquid

Heteronuclear Au–Pd nanoparticles were prepared and immobilized in the functionalized ionic liquid [C₂OHmim][NTf₂]. The structural and electronic properties of the nanoparticles were characterized by a range of techniques and the surface of the nanoparticles was found to be enriched in Pd. Moreover, the extent of Pd enrichment is easily controlled by varying the ratio of Au and Pd salts used in the synthesis. The heteronuclear nanoparticles were found to be effective catalysts in dehalogenation reactions with no activity observed for the pure Au nanoparticles and only limited activity for the pure Pd nanoparticles. The activity of the heteronuclear nanoparticles may be attributed to charge transfer from Pd to Au and consequently to more efficient reductive elimination.     

Au–Ag Nanoflower Catalysts with Clean Surfaces for Alcohol Oxidation

Shape‐controlled metal nanocrystals, such as nanowires and nanoflowers, are attractive owing to their potentially novel catalytic properties and bimetallic nanocrystals composed of two distinct metals are expected to act as highly active catalysts. However, their catalytic activities are limited because of the capping agents adsorbed on the metal surfaces, which are necessary for the preparation and dispersion of these nanocrystals in solvents. Therefore, the preparation of bimetallic shape‐controlled noble metal nanocrystals with clean surfaces, devoid of almost all capping agents, are expected to have high catalytic activity. Herein, we report the preparation of bimetallic Au–Ag nanoflowers using melamine as the capping agent. The bimetallic Au–Ag nanoflowers with a clean surface were subsequently obtained by a support and extraction method. The bimetallic nanoflowers with a clean surface were then used for the aerobic oxidation of 1‐phenylethyl alcohol and they exhibited high rates for the formation of acetophenone compared to Au nanoflowers and spherical nanoparticles with almost the same size and Au/Ag ratio. We also show that Au–Ag nanoflowers containing only 1 % Ag (Au₉₉–Ag₁NFs) exhibit the highest rate of acetophenone formation among Au–Ag nanoflowers with different Au/Ag ratios owing to an increase in the electron density of the Au atoms that act as active sites for the oxidation of 1‐phenylethyl alcohol.     

In Situ Single‐Nanoparticle Spectroscopy Study of Bimetallic Nanostructure Formation

Bimetallic nanostructures (NSs), with utility in catalysis, are typically prepared using galvanic exchange (GE), but the final catalyst morphology is dictated by the dynamics of the process. In situ single nanoparticle (NP) optical scattering spectroscopy, coupled with ex situ electron microscopy, is used to capture the dynamic structural evolution of a bimetallic NS formed in a GE reaction between Ag and [PtCl₆]^2?. We identify an early stage involving anisotropic oxidation of Ag to AgCl concomitant with reductive deposition of small Pt clusters on the NS surface. At later stages of GE, unreacted Ag inclusions phase segregate from the overcoated AgCl as a result of lattice strain between Ag and AgCl. The nature of the structural evolution elucidates why multi‐domain Ag/AgCl/Pt NSs result from the GE process. The complex structural dynamics, determined from single‐NP trajectories, would be masked in ensemble studies due to heterogeneity in the response of different NPs.     

In Situ Spectroscopic Analysis of Nanocluster Formation

The importance of small metal clusters in catalysis and the problems in understanding the clustering process in solution are outlined. A new analysis method for UV/Vis spectra is presented and applied to monitor the kinetics of ion reduction and cluster formation in situ. This method, which is based on a combination of two chemometric techniques, takes into account the entire UV/Vis spectrum and offers better interpretation possibilities than the traditional “band‐assignment” approach. This is particularly true for nanoclusters because these have significant spectral contributions also outside the broad plasmon band that is usually associated with them. The reduction of palladium, gold, and silver ions and the formation of the corresponding clusters is monitored in the presence of two different reducing agents, sodium borohydride and tetraoctylammonium acetate. While Pd²⁺ is found to reduce and cluster directly, the spectral decomposition of the Au³⁺ reduction profiles shows two species corresponding to the Au⁺ intermediate and the Au⁰ clusters. The rates of reduction and clustering for Pd, Au, and Ag are compared and the possibilities of synthesising multimetallic clusters of these metals by coreduction are discussed.     

Tandem Pd/Au‐Catalyzed Route to α‐Sulfenylated Carbonyl Compounds from Terminal Propargylic Alcohols and Thiols

An efficient and highly atom‐economical tandem Pd/Au‐catalyzed route to α‐sulfenylated carbonyl compounds from terminal propargylic alcohols and thiols has been developed. This one‐step procedure has a wide substrate scope with respect to substituents at the α‐position of the alcohol. Both aromatic and aliphatic thiols generated the α‐sulfenylated carbonyl products in good to excellent yields. A mechanism is proposed in which the reaction proceeds through a Pd‐catalyzed regioselective hydrothiolation at the terminal triple bond of the propargyl alcohol followed by an Au‐catalyzed 1,2‐hydride migration.     

Binary Pd–Polyoxometalates and Isolation of a Ternary Pd–V–Polyoxomolybdate Active Species for Selective Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols

Binary Pd–polyoxometalates [Pd(dpa)₂]₃[PW₁₂O₄₀]₂ ? 12 DMSO ( 2 ), [Pd(dpa)₂]₃[PMo₁₂O₄₀]₂ ? 12 DMSO ? 2 H₂O ( 3 ), and [Pd(dpa)(DMSO)₂]₂[HPMo₁₀V₂O₄₀] ? 4 DMSO ( 4 ) were synthesized by reaction of [Pd(dpa)(OAc)₂] ? 2 H₂O ( 1 ; dpa=2,2′‐dipyridylamine) with three Keggin‐type polyoxometalates and fully characterized by single‐crystal and powder XRD analyses, IR spectroscopy, and elemental analyses. The synthesis is facile and straightforward, and the complicated ligand‐modification procedure often used in the traditional charge‐transfer method can be omitted. In 2 – 4 , Pd complexes and polyoxometalate anions are coupled through electrostatic interaction. Compound 4 is more active than the other three compounds in the selective aerobic oxidation of alcohols at ambient pressure. Interestingly, during catalytic recycling of compound 4 , unprecedented ternary Pd–V–polyoxometalate [Pd(dpa)₂{VO(DMSO)₅}₂][PMo₁₂O₄₀]₂ ? 4 DMSO ( 5 ), which was captured and characterized by single‐crystal XRD, proved to be the true active species and showed high catalytic activity for the selective aerobic oxidation of aromatic alcohols (98.1–99.8 % conversion, 91.5–99.1 % selectivity). Moreover, on the basis of control experiments and EPR and UV/Vis spectra, a plausible reaction mechanism for the oxidation of alcohols catalyzed by 5 was proposed.     

In Situ Formation of Dual‐Phase Thermosensitive Ultrasmall Gold Nanoparticles

A novel method for the in situ synthesis of dual‐phase thermosensitive ultrasmall gold nanoparticles (USGNPs) with diameters in the range of 1–3 nm was developed by using poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐block‐poly(N‐phenylethylenediamine methacrylamide) (PNIPAM‐b‐PNPEDMA) amphiphilic diblock copolymers as ligands. The PNPEDMA block promotes the in situ reduction of gold precursors to zero‐valent gold and subsequently binds to the surface of gold nanoparticles, while PNIPAM acts as a stabilizing and thermosensitive block. The as‐synthesized USGNPs stabilized by a thermosensitive PNIPAM layer exhibit a sharp, reversible, clear–opaque transition in aqueous solution between 30 and 38 °C. An unprecedented finding is that these USGNPs also show a reversible soluble–precipitate transition in nonpolar organic solvents such as chloroform at around 0 °C under acidic conditions.     

炭黑负载Pd-Co双金属催化剂对葡萄糖氧化的电催化性能

采用硼氢化钠还原法,制备了炭黑负载的Pd及Pd Co双金属催化剂,研究了葡萄糖在不同催化剂上的氧化行为.通过X射线粉末衍射、透射电镜及X射线光电子能谱及电化学活性面积测定对催化剂进行了表征;利用循环伏安、及计时电流等电化学测试方法研究了Pd负载量及Pd/Co质量比对Pd-Co/C催化剂的葡萄糖电催化氧化活性与稳定性的影响.结果表明,当Pd的负载量为5%、Pd/Co质量比为3时,所得Pd_3Co_1/C催化剂对葡萄糖的电催化氧化活性与稳定性明显优于Pd/C催化剂,且单金属Co/C催化剂没有催化活性.钴助剂的引入提高了Pd的分散度,增大了电化学活性面积,从而提高了Pd的利用效率与催化性能.