PNNL

Abstract

Bimetallic PtPd on silica nano-particle catalysts have been synthesized and their average structure determined by Pt L3 and Pd K-edge extended X-ray absorption finestructure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The bimetallic structure is confirmed from elemental line scans by STEM for the individual 1-2 nm sized particles. A general method is described to determine the surface composition in bimetallic nanoparticles even when both metals adsorb, for example, CO. By measuring the change in the L3 X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra with and without CO in bimetallic particles and comparing these changes to those in monometallic particles of known size the fraction of surface atoms can be determined. The turnover rates (TOR) and neopentane hydrogenolysis and isomerization selectivities based on the surface composition suggest that the catalytic and spectroscopic properties are different from those in monometallic nano-particle catalysts. At the same neo-pentane conversion, the isomerization selectivity is higher for the PtPd catalyst while the TOR is lower than that of both Pt and Pd. As with the catalytic performance, the infrared spectra of adsorbed CO are not a linear combination of the spectra on monometallic catalysts. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the Pt-CO adsorption enthalpy increases while the Pd-CO bond energy decreases. The ability to determine the surface composition allows for a better understanding of the spectroscopic and catalytic properties of bimetallic nanoparticle catalysts.