Catalysts, bimetallic characterization

The nanostructured bimetallic catalysts were characterized using several techniques, and some of the main results are summarized in this section. We first describe the size and composition of the AuPt nanoparticles determined from TEM and DCP-AES analysis. This description is followed by discussion of the phase properties based on XRD results. We further discuss the FTIR provbing of CO adsorption on the bimetallic nanoparticle catalysts. 

XRD Most bimetallic catalysts are characterized by poorly resolved XRD spectra, suggesting an amorphous or microcristalline structure. Metallic bismuth and an intermetallic compound (Bi2Pd) were however observed in the catalysts in which the Bi/Pd molar ratio is equal to 2. Figure 1 shows the X-ray diffraction pattern of the bimetallic supported catalyst Ac.lPd2Bi/Co. 

Previous work has shown that oxidizing thermal treatment at high temperature (800-900°C) of bimetallic Pt-Rh catalysts prepared by coimpregnation would lead to the formation of Pt-Rh alloys with surface enrichment in rhodium oxides (3-7). In order to verify this hypothesis in our case, the coimpregnated Pt-Rh catalyst was characterized by temperature programmed reduction in hydrogen and by measure of the activity for the oxidation of a propane-propene mixture under lean conditions. 

Class II aldolase mimics (Scheme 10.4) were the first small-molecule catalysts that were reported for the direct intermolecular aldol reaction. These catalysts are characterized as bimetallic complexes that contain both Lewis acidic and Brpnsted basic sites. Shibasaki et al. first reported on the use of such a catalyst in the aldol reaction in 1997, demonstrating its potential with the reaction of various acetophenones 52 and aldehydes 53 (Scheme 10.13). Aldols 55 were obtained in good yields and enantioselectivities. A similar approach was used in the direct catalytic asymmetric aldol-Tishchenko reaction.Nevertheless, for the moment, this method does not provide access to true polypropionate fragments. ... 

Cyclodiphosphazanes(III) 27 shown in Scheme 16 undergo oxidation reactions to give the cyclodiphosphazanes(V) of type 28. These are prospective ligands in catalysis since these ligands due to lack of phosphorus lone-pairs are less susceptible to the destructive cycloreversion of the ligands. Hence they could prevent catalyst deactivation in the process. When treated with trimethyl aluminum the cyclodiphosphazanes form symmetrically substituted bimetallic species of type 29 [90]. Characterization by single-crystal X-ray studies show... 

A MgO-supported W—Pt catalyst has been prepared from IWsPttCOIotNCPh) (i -C5H5)2l (Fig. 70), reduced under a Hs stream at 400 C, and characterized by IR, EXAFS, TEM and chemisorption of Hs, CO, and O2. Activity in toluene hydrogenation at 1 atm and 60 C was more than an order of magnitude less for the bimetallic cluster-derived catalyst, than for a catalyst prepared from the two monometallic precursors. 

MgO-supported model Mo—Pd catalysts have been prepared from the bimetallic cluster [Mo2Pd2 /z3-CO)2(/r-CO)4(PPh3)2() -C2H )2 (Fig. 70) and monometallic precursors. Each supported sample was treated in H2 at various temperatures to form metallic palladium, and characterized by chemisorption of H2, CO, and O2, transmission electron microscopy, TPD of adsorbed CO, and EXAFS. The data showed that the presence of molybdenum in the bimetallic precursor helped to maintain the palladium in a highly dispersed form. In contrast, the sample prepared from the monometallie precursors was characterized by larger palladium particles and by weaker Mo—Pd interactions. ... 

Herein we briefly mention historical aspects on preparation of monometallic or bimetallic nanoparticles as science. In 1857, Faraday prepared dispersion solution of Au colloids by chemical reduction of aqueous solution of Au(III) ions with phosphorous [6]. One hundred and thirty-one years later, in 1988, Thomas confirmed that the colloids were composed of Au nanoparticles with 3-30 nm in particle size by means of electron microscope [7]. In 1941, Rampino and Nord prepared colloidal dispersion of Pd by reduction with hydrogen, protected the colloids by addition of synthetic pol5mer like polyvinylalcohol, applied to the catalysts for the first time [8-10]. In 1951, Turkevich et al. [11] reported an important paper on preparation method of Au nanoparticles. They prepared aqueous dispersions of Au nanoparticles by reducing Au(III) with phosphorous or carbon monoxide (CO), and characterized the nanoparticles by electron microscopy. They also prepared Au nanoparticles with quite narrow... 

The XRD and TEM showed that the bimetallic nanoparticles with Ag-core/Rh-shell structure spontaneously form by the physical mixture of Ag and Rh nanoparticles. Luo et al. [168] carried out structure characterization of carbon-supported Au/Pt catalysts with different bimetallic compositions by XRD and direct current plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. The bimetallic nanoparticles were alloy. Au-core/Pd-shell structure of bimetallic nanoparticles, prepared by co-reduction of Au(III) and Pd(II) precursors in toluene, were well supported by XRD data [119]. Pt/Cu bimetallic nanoparticles can be prepared by the co-reduction of H2PtClg and CuCl2 with hydrazine in w/o microemulsions of water/CTAB/ isooctane/n-butanol [112]. XRD results showed that there is only one peak in the pattern of bimetallic nanoparticles, corresponding to the (111) plane of the PtCu3 bulk alloy. 

Recently characterization of bimetallic nanoparticles by EXAFS were extensively reported [122-124,176], Structural transformation of bimetallic Pd/Pt nanoparticles, which were prepared by a sequential loading of H2PtClg onto the Pd loaded catalyst, was investigated with EXAFS at high temperatures [176], The results of EXAFS at Pd K and Pt L-III edges showed that Pt was surface-enriched or anchored on the Pd metal core with an increase of the Pt content. The structure of the obtained bimetallic Pd/Pt nanoparticles seemed to be retained upon heating up to 1273 K under ambient condition [176], Pt/ Au bimetallic nanoparticles can be prepared by polyol method and stabilized by PVP [122], XANES and EXAFS studies were also performed on the samples and their results supported the idea of a Pt-core/Au-shell structure with the elements segregated from each other [122],... 

Ffirai and Toshima have published several reports on the synthesis of transition-metal nanoparticles by alcoholic reduction of metal salts in the presence of a polymer such as polyvinylalcohol (PVA) or polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). This simple and reproducible process can be applied for the preparation of monometallic [32, 33] or bimetallic [34—39] nanoparticles. In this series of articles, the nanoparticles are characterized by different techniques such as transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), UV-visible spectroscopy, electron diffraction (EDX), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) or extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS, bimetallic systems). The great majority of the particles have a uniform size between 1 and 3 nm. These nanomaterials are efficient catalysts for olefin or diene hydrogenation under mild conditions (30°C, Ph2 = 1 bar)- In the case of bimetallic catalysts, the catalytic activity was seen to depend on their metal composition, and this may also have an influence on the selectivity of the partial hydrogenation of dienes. 

Bimetallic (98) and alloy catalysts (97), of interest for hydrogenation reactions, have been investigated in in situ characterizations of methanol synthesis from CO and H2 in the presence of novel Cu-Pd alloy catalysts supported on carbon the results show surface segregation of palladium on the catalyst particles in CO atmospheres, but surfaces with equal amounts of copper and palladium when the atmosphere is H2 (97). 

To summarize, TPR is a highly useful technique, which provides a quick characterization of metallic catalysts. It gives information on the phases present after impregnation and on the eventual degree of reduction. For bimetallic catalysts, TPR patterns often indicate whether or not the two components are mixed. In favorable cases, where the catalyst particles are uniform, TPR yields activation energies for the reduction as well as information on the mechanism of reduction. 

A new class of heterogeneous catalyst has emerged from the incorporation of mono- and bimetallic nanocolloids in the mesopores of MCM-41 or via the entrapment of pro-prepared colloidal metal in sol-gel materials [170-172], Noble metal nanoparticles containing Mex-MCM-41 were synthesized using surfactant stabilized palladium, iridium, and rhodium nanoparticles in the synthesis gel. The materials were characterized by a number of physical methods, showed that the nanoparticles were present inside the pores of MCM-41. They were found to be active catalysts in the hydrogenation of cyclic olefins such as cyclohexene, cyclooctene, cyclododecene, and... 

Colloidal nanoparticles can be employed as heterogeneous catalyst precursors in the same fashion as molecular clusters. In many respects, colloidal nanoparticles offer opportunities to combine the best features of the traditional and cluster catalyst preparation routes to prepare uniform bimetallic catalysts with controlled particle properties. In general, colloidal metal ratios are reasonably variable and controllable. Further, the application of solution and surface characterization techniques may ultimately help correlate solution synthetic schemes to catalytic activity. 

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