Green Synthesis of M<sup>0</sup> Nanoparticles (M=Pd, Pt, and Ru) for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Shanti G. Patra, Krishnamoorthy Sathiyan, Michael Meistelman, Tomer Zidki
Abstract
Abstract In recent years the demand for green synthesis and green energy has increased immensely. Herein M 0 nanoparticles were synthesized using a metal precursor and NaHCO 3 under hydrothermal conditions without using any reducing agent. The nanoparticles were characterized using powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDX). Surprisingly, it found that the Pt and Pd nanoparticles contain a high concentration of carbon. The presence of carbon is also evident from the attenuated transmission resonance infra‐red (ATRIR) spectroscopy. Moreover, acetic acid was detected as a byproduct of the hydrothermal reaction. NaHCO 3 can be considered as the dissolution of CO 2 in a mildly alkaline solution. Thus, during the reaction, CO 2 was converted to carbonaceous material, which can be considered as a fixation of CO 2 . The synthesized nanoparticles are also efficient catalysts for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). It was found that Ru nanoparticles exhibit the highest activity among the three catalysts studied.