Aimed at the green synthesis of supported
noble metal nanoparticles
without any additional reducing agents or stabilizers at room temperature,
a new strategy in which monodispersed Pd nanoparticles were successfully
immobilized on Mg–Al mixed metal oxides derived from layered
double hydroxides was developed, and the reduction mechanism was also
proposed. It allowed the in situ immobilization of monodispersed Pd
nanoparticles with a face-centered cubic structure, using only alcohols
with α-hydrogen atom as the solvent and reducing agent. Control
over the mean particle size and content of Pd nanoparticles was realized
by adjusting the temperature, initial concentration, and type of alcohol.
With the content of Pd varied from 6.4 to 42.3 mg/g, the mean particle
size of Pd increased from 1.1 to 4.9 nm. The as-prepared catalyst
showed high catalytic activity for oxidation of benzyl alcohol: when
the Pd content was 6.4 mg/g, conversion of 60.3% and selectivity of
99.2% were obtained with a turnover frequency of 4807 h
–1
. Similarly, on the basis of the high stand electrode potentials,
immobilized Ag (5.6 nm) and Au (4.7 nm) nanoparticles were also prepared
through this methodology. Moreover, the choice of supports was extended
to other powder supports that would react with the byproduced acid.
Overall, this facile method opens up new opportunities for controllable
synthesis of supported nanoparticle catalysts in a green way.