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Decoupling the Geometric Parameters of Shape-Controlled Pd Nanocatalysts
journal contribution
posted on 2014-04-04, 00:00 authored by Moitree Laskar, Sara E. SkrabalakThe
structural features of metal nanoparticles such as crystallite
size and shape are important to catalytic activity and selectivity.
Thus, correlating the performance of metal nanocatalysts to these
structural features is important to understanding and designing better
catalysts. In this paper, the size and shape effects of Pd nanocrystals
are examined as they are applied as semihydrogenation catalysts. Seed-mediated
growth methods were used to achieve samples composed of different-sized
{100}-terminated Pd nanocubes and {111}-terminated Pd nanoctahedra,
which served as model systems to evaluate the role of surface structure
to activity and selectivity. The size of the nanocrystals was easily
tuned by controlling the amount of metal deposited per seed. The selection
of capping agent provided a means of manipulating the final shape
of the nanocrystals. The catalysis results from this study will facilitate
the decoupling of the size and shape contributions to the geometric
parameters of Pd nanocatalysts.