A new method to make Supported Bimetallic Nanoparticles

Bimetallic nanoparticles supported on silica are important catalysts since the different metals operate in a synergistic manner. They are difficult to synthesize since relative amounts of the metal are difficult to control. LSU's Prof. Ding and collaborators have developed a technique to use inorganometallic materials to control the growth and resulting nanoparticle characteristics

Science 362, 560-564 (2018)
"A general synthesis approach for supported bimetallic nanoparticles via surface inorganometallic chemistry"

Kunlun Ding, David A. Cullen, Laibao Zhang, Zhi Cao, Amitava D. Roy, Ilia N. Ivanov, Dongmei Cao

Abstract:
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 surfaceadsorbed 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(NH3)42+] followed by adsorption of tetrachloroplatinate [PtCl42−] 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.