Characterization and Catalytic Activity of Core−Shell Structured Gold/Palladium Bimetallic Nanoparticles Synthesized by the Sonochemical Method

Abstract

This is a report regarding the preparation of nanosized gold/palladium bimetallic particles utilizing a cavitation phenomenon induced by irradiation of high-intensity ultrasound in an aqueous solution of gold(III) and palladium(II) ions. The particles are found to be composed of gold-core and palladium-shell by a transmission electron microscopic and nanoarea energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic analyses. Sodium dodecyl sulfate added to the sample solution is found to be a stabilizer for the nanoparticles generated as well as an important source of reducing species for noble metal ions. The thickness of a palladium shell and the size of a gold core seem to depend on the ratio of the concentrations of noble metal ions. The morphological differences in the sonochemical and radiochemical products suggest that the formation of a core−shell structure can be affected by the physical effects of ultrasound, such as effective stirring, microjet stream, or shock wave during the collapse of a cavitation bubble. Bimetallic nanoparticles show higher activities for the hydrogenation of 4-pentenoic acid than for those of the mixtures of monometallic nanoparticles with a corresponding gold/palladium ratio. When the gold/palladium ratio is 1:4, the activity of the bimetallic particles is about three times higher than that of palladium monometallic nanoparticles prepared under the same conditions.