Photochemical Synthesis of Mono and Bimetallic Nanoparticles and Their Use in Catalysis

Abstract

Nanomaterials have become a popular topic of research over the years because of their many important applications. It can be a challenge to stabilize the particles at a nanometer size, while having control over their surface features. Copper nanoparticles were synthesized photochemically using a photogenerated radical allowing spatial and temporal control over their formation. The synthesis was affected by the stabilizers used, which changed the size, dispersity, rate of formation, and oxidation rate. Copper nanoparticles suffer from their fast oxidation in air, so copper-silver bimetallic nanoparticles were synthesized in attempts to overcome the oxidation of copper nanoparticles. Bimetallic nanoparticles were synthesized, but preventing the oxidation of the copper nanoparticles proved difficult. One important application of nanoparticles that was explored here is in catalyzing organic reactions. Because of the fast oxidation of copper nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles were synthesized photochemically on different supports including TiO2 and hydrotalcite (HTC). Their catalytic efficiency was tested using alcohol oxidations. Different silver nanoparticle shapes (decahedra and plates) were compared with the spheres to see the different catalytic efficiencies.