catalysis – Inorganic Nanoparticles Group

Hollow PdAg-CeO2 heterodimer nanocrystals as highly structured heterogeneous catalysts

Editor — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 13:49:54 +0000

In the present work, hollow PdAg-CeO₂ heterodimer nanocrystals (NCs) were prepared and tested as catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of alkynes. These nanostructures combine for the first time the beneficial effect of alloying Pd with Ag in a single NC hollow domain with the formation of active sites at the interface with the CeO₂ counterpart in an additive manner. The PdAg-CeO₂ NCs display excellent alkene selectivity for aliphatic alkynes. For the specific case of hydrogenation of internal alkynes such as 4-octyne, very low over-hydrogenation and isomerization products were observed over a full conversion regime, even after prolonged reaction times. These catalytic properties were remarkably superior in comparison to standard catalysts. The promotion of Ag on the moderation of the reactivity of the Pd phase, in combination with the creation of interfacial sites with the CeO₂ moiety in the same nanostructure, is pointed as the responsible of such a remarkable catalytic performance.

Scientific Reports volume 9, Article number: 18776 (2019)

New Paper on High-Index Surface Platinum Hollow Nanocrystals Published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A.

Editor — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 17:58:03 +0000

One of the main focus of the group is the development of synthetic strategies for the production of advanced hollow NCs allowing the precise morphological control of its surface. This aspect, of critical importance for the understanding of the unique properties of the materials at the nanoscale, is also useful in a wide range of applications, such as catalysis, where the development of highly active and low-cost materials represents a landmark for the development of industrial technologies. This time we show how combining solid state chemistry techniques and colloidal synthesis allows us to prepare exotic materials, such as PtAg@Pt single-crystal hollow NCs with high-index planes, at room temperature (green temperature) by controlled corrosion of silver templates, which minimize Pt consumption and maximize surface reactivity. We are further working on the applicability use of these NC-based catalysts. The work, carried out with the collaboration of Prof. Jordi Arbiol from the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), has now been published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A under the title ” Enhanced reactivity of high-index surface platinum hollow nanocrystals“

Neus Bastús has been awarded the Marie Curie CIG grant

Editor — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:56:05 +0000

Dr. Neus Bastús, a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral Fellow in our group, has been recently awarded a Marie Curie Career Reintegration Grant (CIG), granted by the European Commission to support junior researchers directly by funding their own research – a step beyond a personal fellowship. Neus presented the project “Developing New Strategies for the Production of Viable Hybrid Nanocrystals with Applicability in Energy Conversion and (Photo)catalysis”, focusing on the production of metal-semiconductor, metal-oxide of semiconductor and metal-metal oxide, in core-shell and/or oligomer-like configurations, by tackling the most challenging points related to the growth of multi-component materials, in particular the conditions by which it is possible to tune both, the materials that compose the structure and the morphology of the final structure.

Many congratulations, Neus!