Colloidal Metal Nanocatalysts: Synthesis,Characterization, and Catalytic Applications

Metal nanoparticles are key materials in heterogeneous catalysis due to their high catalytic activity and selectivity to the desired product. Accordingly, they are playing a pivotal role in most heterogeneous catalytic reactions that are steeply growing with the development of a colloidal synthetic protocol that enables fine control of size, shape, morphology and composition of metal nanoparticles at an atomic level. These colloidal metal nanoparticles can be dispersed on a rigid support such as mesoporous silica, metal oxide and zeolite, which utilizes metal nanoparticles as model heterogeneous catalysts in industrially important processes involving hydrogenation/dehydrogenation, isomerization and cracking. In this review article, we highlight the recent progress on general colloidal synthetic routes with technological advances in characterization tools that enable the atomic-scale observation of metal nanoparticles. Structure-dependent contributions on the control of product selectivity and turnover rate are also discussed by combining advanced ex situ and in situ surface characterization tools that can monitor the structural change of metal nanocatalysts as well as the evolution of reaction intermediates under the reaction conditions.     

Catalysis with transition metal nanoparticles in colloidal solution: nanoparticle shape dependence and stability

While the nanocatalysis field has undergone an explosive growth during the past decade, there have been very few studies in the area of shape-dependent catalysis and the effect of the catalytic process on the shape and size of transition metal nanoparticles as well as their recycling potential. Metal nanoparticles of different shapes have different crystallographic facets and have different fraction of surface atoms on their corners and edges, which makes it interesting to study the effect of metal nanoparticle shape on the catalytic activity of various organic and inorganic reactions. Transition metal nanoparticles are attractive to use as catalysts due to their high surface-to-volume ratio compared to bulk catalytic materials, but their surface atoms could be so active that changes in the size and shape of the nanoparticles could occur during the course of their catalytic function, which could also affect their recycling potential. In this Feature Article, we review our work on the effect of the shape of the colloidal nanocatalyst on the catalytic activity as well as the effect of the catalytic process on the shape and size of the colloidal transition metal nanocatalysts and their recycling potential. These studies provide important clues on the mechanism of the reactions we studied and also can be very useful in the process of designing better catalysts in the future.     

Colloids for Catalysts: A Concept for the Preparation of Superior Catalysts of Industrial Relevance

Compared to conventional preparation methods for supported heterogeneous catalysts, the use of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) allows for a precise control over size, size distribution, and distribution/location of the NPs on the support. However, common colloidal syntheses have restrictions that limit their applicability for industrial catalyst preparation. We present a simple, surfactant‐free, and scalable preparation method for colloidal NPs to overcome these restrictions. We demonstrate how precious‐metal NPs are prepared in alkaline methanol, how the particle size can be tuned, and how supported catalysts are obtained. The potential of these colloids in the preparation of improved catalysts is demonstrated by two examples from heterogeneous catalysis and electrocatalysis.     

Metal Nanoparticles Syntheses on Ionic Liquids Functionalized Mesoporous Silica SBA‐15

Supported metal nanoparticles hold great promise in heterogeneous catalysis as active and reusable catalysts for various organic transformations. Preparation methods of metal nanoparticles with excellent control over size, shape, and morphology on supports has significantly advanced to improve the performances of the resulting catalysts. Here, we aim to discuss the development of supported metal nanoparticles on mesoporous silica SBA‐15 in the presence of immobilized ionic liquids mostly based on examples from the previously reported results. This review highlights the preparation methods for size‐controlled syntheses and the immobilization of metal nanoparticles on solid supports, especially SBA‐15 by various techniques.     

A New Concept for Advanced Heterogeneous Metal Catalysts

Oxide-supported metal catalysts, having always nano-sized structures in which the metal catalysts are prepared as highly dispersed nano-crystals (typically 1-20 nm) on support oxide particles that are often one to several orders of magnitude larger than the metal nano-particles, are an important class of heterogeneous metal catalysts that finds many applications in chemical/petrochemical industries, in environmental protection, in chemical sensors and in the manufacture of fine and special chemicals. It is believed that catalysis by supported metals is the oldest application of nanotechnology. The literature has been rich in nano-size effect of metal nanoparticles in the metal/oxide catalysts. However, it is until recently that the development of size-controlled synthesis of oxide nanoparticles has made it possible to study the nano-size effect of oxide-support particles. When the particle sizes of an oxide support are reduced to become comparable to the sizes of the active metal nanoparticles, the oxide could deviate dramatically from its function as a conventional support. Such metal/oxide catalysts consisting of comparably sized metal and oxide nanocrystals are better called metal/oxide nanocomposite catalysts or catalytic nanoarchitectures.In this presentation, several attempts with reducing the particle size of oxide supports (ZrO2, TiO2,MgO, Al2O3) to approach the metal/oxide nanocomposite concept will be discussed to emphasize the importance of the support size effect. Examples will be given on characteristics of nanocomposite Ni/oxide catalysts for the reforming of natural gas with CO2 and/or steam, and on Au/oxide catalysts for CO oxidation and hydrogenation of unsaturated organic compounds. It will be emphasized that systematic investigations into the size effects of both the metal and oxide nanoparticles approaching the metal/oxide nanocomposite concept can lead to advanced heterogeneous metal catalysts.Moreover, intensive practice of the nanocomposite concept would also lead to discovery of special size-dependent metal-oxide interaction and catalysis, which may provide new opportunity for performance enhancement of potential and existing catalysts.     

Tuning Nanoparticle Catalysis for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Advances in chemical syntheses have led to the formation of various kinds of nanoparticles (NPs) with more rational control of size, shape, composition, structure and catalysis. This review highlights recent efforts in the development of Pt and non‐Pt based NPs into advanced nanocatalysts for efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under fuel‐cell reaction conditions. It first outlines the shape controlled synthesis of Pt NPs and their shape‐dependent ORR. Then it summarizes the studies of alloy and core–shell NPs with controlled electronic (alloying) and strain (geometric) effects for tuning ORR catalysis. It further provides a brief overview of ORR catalytic enhancement with Pt‐based NPs supported on graphene and coated with an ionic liquid. The review finally introduces some non‐Pt NPs as a new generation of catalysts for ORR. The reported new syntheses with NP parameter‐tuning capability should pave the way for future development of highly efficient catalysts for applications in fuel cells, metal‐air batteries, and even in other important chemical reactions.     

New nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts with increased selectivity and stability

In this perspective, several examples of work from our laboratory are reported where colloidal or self-assembly chemistry has been used to design new catalysts with specific properties. In the first, platinum nanoparticles with well-defined shapes have been dispersed on a high-surface-area silica support in order to take advantage of the structure sensitivity exhibited by the interconversion between the cis and trans isomers of olefins. The second case involves the use of dendrimers as scaffolding structures to prepare catalysts with small platinum nanoparticles of well-defined size. Reduced sintering of metal nanoparticles on supported catalysts is accomplished in our third example via their encapsulation inside a layer of mesoporous silica deposited on top, after metal dispersion, and etched using a newly developed surface-protection process. The final project refers to the use of yolk@shell metal-oxide systems as nanoreactors for photocatalysis. In all those examples, new synthetic nanotechnology has been directed to address a specific issue in catalysis previously identified by surface-science studies.     

Colloid chemistry of nanocatalysts: a molecular view

Recent advances of a colloidal chemistry can offer great opportunities to fabricate and design nanocatalysts. Comprehensive understanding of a basic concept and theory of the colloidal synthetic chemistry facilitates to engineer elaborate nano-architectures such as bi- or multi-metallic, heterodimers, and core/shell. This colloidal solution technique not only enables to synthesize high surface mesoporous materials, but also provides a versatile tool to incorporate nanoparticles into mesoporous materials or onto substrates. For green chemistry, catalysis research has been pursued to design and fabricate a catalyst system that produces only one desired product (100% selectivity) at high turnover rates to reduce the production of undesirable wastes. Recent studies have shown that several molecular factors such as the surface structures, composition, and oxidation states affect the turnover frequency and reaction selectivity depending on the size, morphology, and composition of metal nanoparticles. Multipath reactions have been utilized to study the reaction selectivity as a function of size and shape of platinum nanoparticles. In the past, catalysts were evaluated and compared with characterizations before and after catalytic reaction. Much progress on in situ surface characterization techniques has permitted real-time monitoring of working catalysts under various conditions and provides molecular information during the reaction.     

A general synthetic strategy for oxide-supported metal nanoparticle catalysts

Despite recent exciting progress in catalysis by supported gold nanoparticles, there remains the formidable challenge of preparing supported gold catalysts that collectively incorporate precise control over factors such as size and size-distribution of the gold nanoparticles, homogeneous dispersion of the particles on the support, and the ability to utilize a wide range of supports that profoundly affect catalytic performance. Here, we describe a synthetic methodology that achieves these goals. In this strategy, weak interface interactions evenly deposit presynthesized organic-capped metal nanoparticles on oxide supports. The homogeneous dispersion of nanoparticles on oxides is then locked in place, without aggregation, through careful calcination. The approach takes advantage of recent advances in the synthesis of metal and oxide nanomaterials and helps to bring together these two classes of materials for catalysis applications. An important feature is that the strategy allows metal nanoparticles to be well dispersed on a variety of oxides with few restrictions on their physical and chemical properties. Following this synthetic procedure, we have successfully developed efficient gold catalysts for green chemistry processes, such as the production of ethyl acetate from the selective oxidation of ethanol by oxygen at 100 degrees C.     

Surfactant‐Assisted Stabilization of Au Colloids on Solids for Heterogeneous Catalysis

The stabilization of surfactant‐assisted synthesized colloidal noble metal nanoparticles (NPs, such as Au NPs) on solids is a promising strategy for preparing supported nanocatalysts for heterogeneous catalysis because of their uniform particle sizes, controllable shapes, and tunable compositions. However, surfactant removal to obtain clean surfaces for catalysis through traditional approaches (such as solvent extraction and thermal decomposition) can easily induce the sintering of NPs, greatly hampering their use in synthesis of novel catalysts. Such unwanted surfactants have now been utilized to stabilize NPs on solids by a simple yet efficient thermal annealing strategy. After being annealed in N₂ flow, the surface‐bound surfactants are carbonized in situ as sacrificial architectures that form a conformal coating on NPs and assist in creating an enhanced metal‐support interaction between NPs and substrate, thus slowing down the Ostwald ripening process during post‐oxidative calcination to remove surface covers.     

“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。     

单分散中空介孔结构的盐模板合成及形貌调控

中空介孔结构因具有丰富的内部空间以及多孔渗透性外壳等优势,在催化、能源储存与转化及生物医药等领域得到了广泛应用.然而,目前仍然缺少高效、简便且绿色的合成中空介孔结构的方法.本文以柠檬酸钠胶体颗粒作为模板,通过十六烷基三甲基溴化氨(Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB)胶束与正硅酸四乙酯(Tetraethyl orthosilicate, TEOS)的水解低聚物在胶体颗粒表面进行界面共组装,直接生长介孔二氧化硅壳层;然后通过简便的醇洗和水洗分别除去CTAB胶束和柠檬酸钠胶体颗粒后,得到中空介孔结构.进一步研究表明,负电荷的柠檬酸钠胶体颗粒与CTAB胶束之间的静电相互作用是诱导氧化硅低聚物在颗粒表面进行交联组装的关键.基于此,通过控制生长时间实现了对中空介孔结构形貌和壳层厚度的精确调控.所得中空介孔二氧化硅纳米球可以显著增强物质的扩散传输,是理想的催化剂载体,负载金纳米颗粒后可以高效催化4-硝基苯酚的还原反应.研究结果为中空介孔材料的绿色简便合成提供了思路.     

Direct thermal decomposition of metal nitrates in octadecylamine to metal oxide nanocrystals

We have developed a method for the synthesis of metal oxide nanocrystals with controllable shape and size, which is based on the direct thermal decomposition of metal nitrates in octadecylamine. Mn3O4 nanoparticles and nanorods with different lengths were synthesized by using manganese nitrate as the decomposition material. Other metal oxide nanocrystals such as NiO, ZnO, CeO2, CoO, and Co3O4 were also prepared by this method. These nanocrystals were then assembled into 3D colloidal spheres by a surfactant-assisted self-assembly process. Subsequently, calcination was carried out to remove the surfactants to obtain mesoporous metal oxides, which show large pores, good crystallization, thermally stable pore mesostructures, and potential applications in various fields, especially in catalysis and lithium-ion batteries.     

共价有机框架材料在多相催化领域的研究进展（英文）

共价有机框架(COFs)材料是近年来在拓扑学基础上发展起来的一类新型有机多孔聚合物,是有机单体通过可逆共价键连接而形成的晶型多孔材料,具有拓扑结构"可设计"、比表面积大、结构规整、孔道均一、孔径可调节以及易于修饰和功能化等优点.与金属有机框架材料(MOFs)相比,由于COFs是以共价键连接形成空间网络结构,具有较好的热稳定性和化学稳定性,又被称为"有机分子筛".COFs的构筑单体为有机小分子,有机小分子来源广泛而且种类繁多,使得构筑单体多样化,便于通过构筑单体来调控目标材料的结构和功能.自2005年首次报道以来,COFs以其独特的结构和优越的性能,吸引了广大科研工作者的极大兴趣,对其结构设计、可控合成、结构解析以及功能探索成为了研究热点,在气体吸附与分离、光电材料等领域展现出了广阔的应用前景.特别是在催化领域,由于COFs材料的多孔性、敞开的孔道结构、良好的稳定性以及易于修饰的特点,采用COFs作为催化剂以及催化剂载体受到了人们普遍的关注.作为催化剂,COFs可分为本征型催化剂和负载型催化剂.本征型催化剂的设计方法是基于"自下而上"策略将催化活性中心嵌入材料骨架之中;负载型催化剂的设计方法是以COFs为载体,通过后修饰方式负载金属颗粒或离子来构建多相催化剂.本征型COFs催化剂是在分子水平上引入催化活性中心,具有活性位点均匀分散、数量可控的特点,而且COFs规整均一的孔道结构有利于底物的传质,也为择形催化提供了可能;负载型催化剂通过后修饰方式引入催化活性中心,由于COFs以共价键连接,催化剂稳定性较高.COFs载体具有较大的比表面积,使得催化活性位点分散性好,也有利于底物与催化活性位点的结合.本文综述了COFs作为多相催化剂在催化领域的发展状况,按照COFs引入催化活性位点的类别,如单催化位点、双催化位点以及负载的金属纳米粒子进行了细致的阐述,重点讨论了COFs催化剂的设计理念、制备方式、功能化策略、材料的稳定性、催化活性以及选择性等内容.此外,对COFs作为光催化剂以及电催化剂方面的研究也进行了详细的介绍.最后,我们讨论了COFs在未来催化领域所面临的问题及挑战,并展望了COFs在超分子催化以及酶催化等方面的应用前景.     

In Situ Growth and Characterization of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles within Polyelectrolyte Membranes

This study describes a novel approach for the in situ synthesis of metal oxide–polyelectrolyte nanocomposites formed via impregnation of hydrated polyelectrolyte films with binary water/alcohol solutions of metal salts and consecutive reactions that convert metal cations into oxide nanoparticles embedded within the polymer matrix. The method is demonstrated drawing on the example of Nafion membranes and a variety of metal oxides with an emphasis placed on zinc oxide. The in situ formation of nanoparticles is controlled by changing the solvent composition and conditions of synthesis that for the first time allows one to tailor not only the size, but also the nanoparticle shape, giving a preference to growth of a particular crystal facet. The high‐resolution TEM, SEM/EDX, UV‐vis and XRD studies confirmed the homogeneous distribution of crystalline nanoparticles of circa 4 nm and their aggregates of 10–20 nm. The produced nanocomposite films are flexible, mechanically robust and have a potential to be employed in sensing, optoelectronics and catalysis.     

Photocatalytic synthesis of silver nanoparticles stabilized by TiO2 nanorods: a semiconductor/metal nanocomposite in homogeneous nonpolar solution

A novel colloidal approach toward semiconductor/metal nanocomposites is presented. Organic-soluble anatase TiO(2) nanorods are used for the first time to stabilize Ag nanoparticles in optically clear nonpolar solutions in the absence of specific ligands for silver. Metallic silver is generated upon UV illumination of deaerated TiO(2) solutions containing AgNO(3). The Ag nanoparticles can be obtained in different size-morphological regimes as a function of the irradiation time, due to light-induced photofragmentation and ripening processes. A mechanism for the colloidal stabilization of the silver nanoparticles is tentatively suggested, which regards the TiO(2) nanorods as inorganic stabilizers, thus acting in the same manner as conventional surfactant molecules. The proposed photocatalytic approach offers a convenient method for producing TiO(2)/Ag nanocomposite systems with a certain control over the metal particle size without the use of surfactants and/or additives. Stable colloidal TiO(2)-nanorod-stabilized Ag nanoparticles can be potentially available for a number of applications that require "clean" metal surfaces, such as homogeneous organic catalysis, photocatalysis, and sensing devices.     

Design of oxide nanoparticles by aqueous chemistry

The elaboration of nanoparticles designed for technological applications in various fields such as catalysis, optics, magnetism, electronics… needs the strict control of their characteristics, especially chemical composition, crystalline structure, size, and shape. These characteristics bring the physical properties (color, magnetism, band gap…) of the material, and also the surface to volume ratio of particles which is of high importance when they are used as a chemically active or reactive support, in catalysis for instance. The nanoparticles may have also to be surface functionalized by various species, and/or dispersed in aqueous or non aqueous media. We will show that the aqueous chemistry of metal cations is a very versatile and attractive way for the design of oxide nanomaterials, allowing the control of size, shape, and crystalline structure for polymorphic materials. Aqueous surface chemistry, including adsorption of various species, may be used to modify the morphology of nanoparticles. In some cases, redox processes can be involved to control the morphology of nanoparticles. Technologically important nanomaterials such as titania, alumina, and iron oxides are studied.     

各向异性金纳米粒子的制备及其在催化中的应用

尽管有关金纳米粒子催化的研究工作很多,但其中大多数都是采用传统的浸渍法将金盐负载到载体上、共沉淀或沉积-沉淀法制得负载的纳米粒子,但这些方法并未吸收最新的纳米技术。最近,金催化剂的研究者开发了在胶态悬浮液中制取金属纳米粒子,然后进行固载,从而使得单金属和双金属催化剂的催化活性和形貌控制取得较大进展。另一方面,最近十年出现了金纳米粒子合成的高级控制技术,得到了许多各向异性的金纳米粒子,且很容易制得新的形貌,可以控制纳米粒子的表面原子配位数和光学特性(可调的等离子体带),这些都与催化密切相关。这些形貌包括纳米棒、纳米星、纳米花、树枝状纳米结构或多面体纳米粒子等。除了高度关注各向异性金纳米粒子的最新开发的制备方法和性质,本综述也清楚地总结了这些纳米粒子独特的催化性能,以及通过提供更高催化性能的金催化剂、控制暴露的活性位,以及热、电和光催化的鲁棒性和可调性,从而给多相催化领域带来令人惊奇的潜在变革。     

Photochemical Synthesis of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles—A Review

Nanomaterials have supported important technological advances due to their unique properties and their applicability in various fields, such as biomedicine, catalysis, environment, energy, and electronics. This has triggered a tremendous increase in their demand. In turn, materials scientists have sought facile methods to produce nanomaterials of desired features, i.e., morphology, composition, colloidal stability, and surface chemistry, as these determine the targeted application. The advent of photoprocesses has enabled the easy, fast, scalable, and cost- and energy-effective production of metallic nanoparticles of controlled properties without the use of harmful reagents or sophisticated equipment. Herein, we overview the synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles via photochemical routes. We extensively discuss the effect of varying the experimental parameters, such as the pH, exposure time, and source of irradiation, the use or not of reductants and surfactants, reagents’ nature and concentration, on the outcomes of these noble nanoparticles, namely, their size, shape, and colloidal stability. The hypothetical mechanisms that govern these green processes are discussed whenever available. Finally, we mention their applications and insights for future developments.     

Size-controlled deposition of Ag nanoparticles on alumina with the assistance of a photo-induced chromic reaction, and study of their catalytic properties

This paper describes a promising method to synthesize supported metal catalysts based on a photochromic reaction. Highly dispersed Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with a mean diameter of ca. 10 nm stabilized by 3-mercaptopropionic acid (3-MPA) were prepared as a colloidal precursor solution. The zeta electric potential was found to be negatively charged in the region of pH higher than 5 due to the presence of dissociated carboxylate ions (-COO(-)), which led to electric repulsion between Ag NPs and kept the solution in a highly dispersed colloidal state. In the presence of photochromic molecules, trans-2-hydroxychalcone, the photo-irradiation gradually decreased the electric charge on the nanoparticles owing to the formation of flavylium cations, which induced the assembly of Ag NPs. Such photo-induced assembly-dispersion control of Ag NPs enables size selective deposition on a catalyst support, which is controlled by varying the photo-irradiation time.