Controlled Formation of Ni–B Amorphous Alloy Nanoarray via Ultrasound-assisted Reductant-infiltration Strategy

Abstract

An effective and facile strategy, ultrasound-assisted reductant-infiltration, was realized in the preparation of hexagonally packed Ni–B amorphous alloy nanoarray, which exhibits superior catalytic properties to their nanoparticle counterpart in selective hydrogenation of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol.

Effects of Ultrasound and Microwaves on Selective Reduction: Catalyst Preparation and Reactions

“…The increased surface B content can invoke a stronger electronic interaction with metal (M) and higher thermal stability by impeding the migration of the metal atoms. Furthermore, Chen et al [63] synthesized a Ni-B nano-array replicated from mesoporous siliceous SBA-15. The silica-free Ni-B nano-array is constructed of hexagonally packed nanowires with a uniform diameter of about 5 nm, which exhibit superior catalytic properties to their nanoparticle counterparts in the selective reduction of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol.…”

“…This catalyst exhibited superior performance in the selective reduction of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol. [63] It was suggested that the agglomeration was inhibited by sonication wherein the surface of the catalyst becomes homogeneous and the coverage of Ni centers decreases correspondingly. Sonication also slightly increased surface area.…”

Advances in chemical synthesis and application of metal-metalloid amorphous alloy nanoparticulate catalysts

“…After that, Klabunde et al [16][17][18][19][20] and Chen et al [21][22][23][24] studied the mechanism of borohydride reduction and the relation between properties and preparation conditions. On the other hand, Deng and coworkers have been interested in studying the properties of amorphous alloy particles and the application of metal boron (MB) and metal phosphorus (MP) amorphous alloys for catalytic hydrogenation [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Dragieva et al focused on developing amorphous alloys as electrode or catalytic oxidation materials [38][39][40][41][42][43], while Chen and coworkers prepared MPB alloy nanoparticle catalysts for various selective hydrogenation reactions [44][45][46][47][48][49][50].…”

“…investigated widely. Klabunde et al [16][17][18][19][20], Chen et al [21][22][23][24] and Deng et al [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] have investigated the reduction mechanism thoroughly. It has been found that the mechanisms mainly depended on the types of metal ions or salts, properties of metal ions, pH values of solution and the solvent selected.…”

“…The preparation of supported amorphous alloy by reducing metal ions impregnated on the support with potassium borohydride has been studied frequently. Presently, the preparation of supported amorphous alloy catalyst was focused on the application of new materials or techniques, such as using carbon nanotubes [93] and mesoporous materials [35,37] as support, or the application of electrical field, microwave, and magnetic field in the synthesis process.…”