Hydrodechlorination Catalysis of Pd-on-Au Nanoparticles Varies with Particle Size
The dependence of bimetallic PdAu catalytic activity on the relative ratios of Pd and Au has been theoretically predicted and experimentally observed for a number of reactions. Trichloroethene (TCE), a common carcinogenic solvent that is difficult to remove from contaminated groundwater in many industrialized nations, can be chemically degraded especially rapidly with Au nanoparticles partially coated with Pd ("Pd-on-Au NPs"). These NPs catalyze the room-temperature water-phase TCE hydrodechlorination (HDC) reaction with activities that follow a volcano-shape dependence on Pd surface coverage. The effect of particle size is not known, though. Pd-on-Au NPs synthesized with 3, 7, and 10 nm Au NPs and Pd surface coverages between 0 and 150% were studied in detail. Volcano-shape dependence on Au particle size and Pd surface coverage was observed, with 7 nm Au NPs with a Pd coverage of 60-70% having the highest TCE HDC activity. Extended x-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) revealed the correlation was strongest between catalytic activity and the presence of non-oxidized Pd ensembles of ~2-3 atoms in contact with ~8-10 Au atoms. Isolated Pd atoms and Pd ensembles were visualized for the first time through aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). This study provides the most direct evidence yet for Pd-on-Au NPs containing 2-dimensional Pd ensembles as the active sites for TCE HDC and likely for other chemical reactions. A portion of the research was performed using EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This research was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated by Battelle for the US Department of Energy.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1074302
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-91287
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Catalysis, 298:206-217, Journal Name: Journal of Catalysis, 298:206-217
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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