Synergistic growth of nickel and platinum nanoparticles via exsolution and surface reaction
Min Xu, Yukwon Jeon, Aaron B. Naden, Heesu Kim, Gwilherm Kerherve, David J. Payne, Yong‐Gun Shul, John T. S. Irvine
Abstract
Abstract Bimetallic catalysts combining precious and earth-abundant metals in well designed nanoparticle architectures can enable cost efficient and stable heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we present an interaction-driven in-situ approach to engineer finely dispersed Ni decorated Pt nanoparticles (1-6 nm) on perovskite nanofibres via reduction at high temperatures (600-800 o C). Deposition of Pt (0.5 wt%) enhances the reducibility of the perovskite support and promotes the nucleation of Ni cations via metal-support interaction, thereafter the Ni species react with Pt forming alloy nanoparticles, with the combined processes yielding smaller nanoparticles that either of the contributing processes. Tuneable uniform Pt-Ni nanoparticles are produced on the perovskite surface, yielding reactivity and stability surpassing 1 wt.% Pt/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalysts for CO oxidation. This approach heralds the possibility of in-situ fabrication of supported bimetallic nanoparticles with engineered compositional distributions and performance.