Ligand-Free Noble Metal Nanocluster Catalysts on Carbon Supports via “Soft” Nitriding

Liu, Ben; Yao, Huiqin; Song, Wenqiao; Jin, Lei; Mosa, Islam M.; Rusling, James F.; Suib, Steven L.; He, Jie

doi:10.1021/jacs.6b01702

Ligand-Free Noble Metal Nanocluster Catalysts on Carbon Supports via “Soft” Nitriding

Journal Article · Tue Mar 29 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6b01702· OSTI ID:1467441

Liu, Ben ^[1]; Yao, Huiqin ^[2]; Song, Wenqiao ^[3]; Jin, Lei ^[3]; Mosa, Islam M. ^[3]; Rusling, James F. ^[4]; Suib, Steven L. ^[5]; He, Jie ^[5]

Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Univ. of Connecticut, CT (United States)
Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Department of Chemistry, NingXia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, China
Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States). Dept. of Chemistry, Inst. of Materials Science, and Green Emulsions, Micelles, and Surfactants Center; Univ. of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT (United States). Dept. of Surgery and Neag Cancer Center; Univ.of Ireland, Galway (Ireland). School of Chemistry
Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States). Dept. of Chemistry, Inst. of Materials Science, and Green Emulsions, Micelles, and Surfactants Center

We report a robust, universal "soft" nitriding method to grow in situ ligand-free ultrasmall noble metal nanocatalysts (UNMN; e.g., Au, Pd, and Pt) onto carbon. Using low-temperature urea pretreatment at 300 °C, soft nitriding enriches nitrogen-containing species on the surface of carbon supports and enhances the affinity of noble metal precursors onto these supports. We demonstrated sub-2-nm, ligand-free UNMNs grown in situ on seven different types of nitrided carbons with no organic ligands via chemical reduction or thermolysis. Ligand-free UNMNs supported on carbon showed superior electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation compared to counterparts with surface capping agents or larger nanocrystals on the same carbon supports. Our method is expected to provide guidelines for the preparation of ligand-free UNMNs on a variety of supports and, additionally, to broaden their applications in energy conversion and electrochemical catalysis.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division

Grant/Contract Number:: FG02-86ER13622

OSTI ID:: 1467441

Journal Information:: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the American Chemical Society Journal Issue: 14 Vol. 138; ISSN 0002-7863

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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