Gas-Phase Synthesis of Trimetallic Nanoparticles

Abstract

To this day, engineering nanoalloys beyond bimetallic compositions has scarcely been within the scope of physical deposition methods due to the complex, nonequilibrium processes they entail. Here, we report a gas-phase synthesis strategy for the growth of multimetallic nanoparticles: magnetron-sputtering inert-gas condensation from neighboring monoelemental targets provides the necessary compositional flexibility, whereas in-depth atomistic computer simulations elucidate the fast kinetics of nucleation and growth that determines the resultant structures. We fabricated consistently trimetallic Au−Pt−Pd nanoparticles, a system of major importance for heterogeneous catalysis applications. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we established their physical and chemical ordering: Au/Pt-rich core@Pd-shell atomic arrangements were identified for particles containing substantial amounts of all elements. Decomposing the growth process into basic steps by molecular dynamics simulations, we identified a fundamental difference between Au/Pt and Pd growth dynamics: Au/Pt electronic arrangements favor the formation of dimer nuclei instead of larger-size clusters, thus significantly slowing down their growth rate. Consequently, larger Pd particles formed considerably faster and incorporated small Au and Pt clusters by means of inflight decoration and coalescence. A broad range of icosahedral, truncated-octahedral, and spheroidal face-centered cubic trimetallic nanoparticles were reproduced in simulations, in good agreement with experimental particles. Comparing them with their expected equilibrium structures obtained by Monte Carlo simulations, we identified the particles as metastable, due to outof-equilibrium growth conditions. We aspire that our in-depth study will constitute a significant advance toward establishing gas-phase aggregation as a standard method for the fabrication of complex nanoparticles by design.

Synthesis, Structure, Properties, and Applications of Bimetallic Nanoparticles of Noble Metals

“…Trimetallic nanoalloys of Au‐Pt‐Pd have been prepared by magnetron‐sputtering, and their formation has been studied by molecular dynamics simulation. [ 52 ] The thermal behavior of trimetallic Au‐Cu‐Pt nanoparticles was studied by molecular dynamics to predict the melting process in such core–shell nanoparticles. [ 53 ]…”

Nucleation and Growth of Magnetron‐Sputtered Ag Nanoparticles as Witnessed by Time‐Resolved Small Angle X‐Ray Scattering

“…The employment of highly nonequilibrium conditions favors tailoring the morphology of resultant NPs which strongly depends on the rate with which NPs equilibrate themselves with the ambient gas . Furthermore, mixing of two or more metals can be realized either simultaneously or sequentially giving rise to a wealth of homogeneous or heterogeneous nanoalloys, unattainable by conventional means . Despite great progress in laboratory synthesis of novel NPs with advanced functionalities, commercial applications of magnetron‐sputtered NPs are still far from being at hand.…”

Evidence of alloy formation in CoNi nanoparticles synthesized by nanosecond‐pulsed discharges in liquid nitrogen

“…As demonstrated by Mattei et al, [ 31 ] the clustering rate of each elemental species is the primary limiting factor in the nanoparticle fabrication process used by these authors. The process is somewhat similar to the present one.…”