Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
3224570 
Journal Article 
Kinetic analysis of the reduction of 4-nitrophenol catalyzed by Au/Pd nanoalloys immobilized in spherical polyelectrolyte brushes 
Gu, S; Lu, Yan; Kaiser, J; Albrecht, M; Ballauff, M 
2015 
1 
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
ISSN: 1463-9076
EISSN: 1463-9084 
17 
42 
28137-28143 
English 
25790094 
WOS:000363686800023 
We present a detailed study of the catalytic activity of Au/Pd nanoalloys with Au : Pd molar ratio 75 : 25 synthesized using spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (SPB) as carrier system. The reduction of 4-nitrophenol (Nip) by sodium borohydride (BH4-) has been used as a model reaction. This reaction proceeds in two steps: 4-nitrophenol is first reduced to 4-hydroxylaminophenol which in a second step is reduced to the final product 4-aminophenol. Both steps of the reaction proceed on the surface of the nanoparticles (Langmuir-Hinshelwood-mechanism). We use this model to analyze the experimental data obtained by catalysis with the Au/Pd-nanoalloys. Good agreements between theory and experiments were found up to 30% conversion of Nip. The kinetic parameters were compared with the data derived from neat Au and Pd nanoparticles immobilized in the same SPB carrier system. The addition of 25% molar ratio of Pd to the nanoalloys increases the reaction rate of the first step nearly 10 times compared with that of SPB-Au and 60 times compared with that of SPB-Pd. Analysis of the nanoalloy by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy suggests that the surface defects of the nanoalloys play an important role for the enhanced catalytic activity.