Catalytic Properties of Morphology-Controlled Pd Nanoparticles Synthesized by One-Pot and Sequential Reagent Addition Syntheses

Colloid synthesized metal nanoparticles are commonly used in heterogeneous catalysis due to the high degree of morphology control that is possible. The ultimate goal of the morphology control is to uniformly prepare surface active sites, which increases the particles' activity and selectivity. In this work, the morphology of Pd nanoparticles was controlled using precursors with different oxidation states and with various schemes for the addition of capping agents (e.g., trimethyl tetradecyl ammonium bromide (TTAB), polyvinlypyrrolidone (PVP), etc.) during reduction. A variety of techniques including electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and gas adsorption studies were used to characterize the materials. The role of particle morphology on catalytic properties will also be discussed.