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A novel aqueous approach for the synthesis of palladium nanoparticles

CSEF · 2023 Chemistry Honorable_mention Award

Kapoor Saanchi · 11

Overview

Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles are widely accepted as one of the most active methane combustion catalysts. Synthesizing these nanoparticles in a particular size range can play an important role in determining physicochemical properties (size of range of 3-10 nm is the most suitable for catalysis). Current processes to synthesize nanoparticles involve expensive equipment and hazardous organic solvents - complicating large-scale production and there is a gap in literature in a simplified method used to develop these particles at a 3-10 nm scale without using synthetic methods. This project aimed to experiment with conditions for a novel synthesis method: aqueous synthesis. By varying ratios of primary reagents and heating rates, the project aimed to produce a standardized recipe for production of small-scale nanoparticles applicable to all precious metals (i.e. Rhodium, Ruthenium, and Platinum) utilized in methane combustion. ` 31 trials were conducted with various ratios of the primary reagents used in the synthesis reaction (PVP, glucose, water, and K2PdCl4) as well as different heating rates (heating mantle, oil bath, and hot injection) to determine optimal conditions. This proposed recipe differentiates from conventional materials consisting of 1-dodecene(DDE), 1-tetradecene(TDE), 1-oleylamine(OLAM), Trioctylphosphine(TOP) etc. Varying the temperature proved that ~80 degrees Celsius has the least variation in distribution of particles (20%, +/- 1 nm). Syntheses via hot injection had least variation (16%, +/- 0.8 nm) with more regularly shaped particles contrasting those produced through the heating mantle. PVP 10x that of the initial precursor had least variation in particle size (16%, +/- 0.8 nm). Size variation decreased from 57% to 16% as glucose concentration increased from 5x to 20x.The tested ratios were successfully cross-applied to Rhodium production to demonstrate standardization of the recipe and increased size uniformity by 6% compared to organic solvents. Monodisperse, nanometer-sized palladium particles (as produced by this experiment) have been highly researched in light of the numerous scientific interests associated with it. This proposed method successfully produced uniform Pd nanoparticles within 3-10 nm with fewer steps (eliminated steps requiring evacuation of air and flow of nitrogen gas with Schlenk line), and a ~51% total cost reduction. With widespread adoption and further validation, nanoparticle synthesis can be safer, cost-efficient, and standardized.

Source coverage

This record comes from a published award list, not a complete project archive. Its abstract comes from CSEF's public project showcase as archived by the Internet Archive before judging (https://web.archive.org/web/20230401224130/https://ca-csef.zfairs.com/showcase/ShowcaseInfo?f=838e60b7-ea75-46e8-865c-fde4864244b3); the version presented may differ.

Awards (1)

  • Category Award: HM

Competition history

  • CSEF 2023 Chemistry · Entry S0619

Resources

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