Monodisperse Platinum and Rhodium Nanoparticles as Model Heterogeneous Catalysts
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Model heterogeneous catalysts have been synthesized and studied to better understand how the surface structure of noble metal nanoparticles affects catalytic performance. In this project, monodisperse rhodium and platinum nanoparticles of controlled size and shape have been synthesized by solution phase polyol reduction, stabilized by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Model catalysts have been developed using these nanoparticles by two methods: synthesis of mesoporous silica (SBA-15) in the presence of nanoparticles (nanoparticle encapsulation, NE) to form a composite of metal nanoparticles supported on SBA-15 and by deposition of the particles onto a silicon wafer using Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayer deposition. The particle shapes were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution TEM (HRTEM) and the sizes were determined by TEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and in the case of NE samples, room temperature H2 and CO adsorption isotherms. Catalytic studies were carried out in homebuilt gas-phase reactors. For the nanoparticles supported on SBA-15, the catalysts are in powder form and were studied using the homebuilt systems as plug-flow reactors. In the case of nanoparticles deposited on silicon wafers, the same systems were operated as batch reactors. This dissertation has focused on the synthesis, characterization, and reaction studies of model noble metal heterogeneous catalysts. Careful control of particle size and shape has been accomplished though solution phase synthesis of Pt and Rh nanoparticles in order to elucidate further structure-reactivity relationships in noble metal catalysis.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 940776
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-1077E; TRN: US200824%%229
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: Designation of Academic Dissertation: Doctoral; Academic Degree: Ph.D.; Name of Academic Institution: University of California, Berkeley; Location of Academic Institution: Berkeley, CA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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