Ag–Cu Bimetallic Nanoparticles with Enhanced Resistance to Oxidation: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

Abstract

A simple oleylamine-based thermal decomposition process using different time steps for precursor injection was used to obtain bimetallic Ag–Cu nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution. Experimental and theoretical studies were carried out to demonstrate that these bimetallic nanoparticles are less prone to oxidation. The calculated energy trends for O2 adsorption on the nanoparticles show that the adsorption energy declines rapidly when more than six O2 molecules are present, indicating that O2 is rarely adsorbed on Ag–Cu nanoparticles. Electron transfer from Cu to Ag within these bimetallic nanoparticles allows far better resistance to oxidation than monometallic Cu nanoparticles.