Researchers | Wail Al Zoubi, Nisa Nashrah, Rosy Amalia Kurnia Putri, Abdul Wahab Allaf, Bassem Assfour, and Young Gun Ko |
Published in | Materials Today Nano, volume 18, Article 100213, June 2022. |
Abstract | Supported bimetallic nanoparticles have important industrial applications. However, the direct synthesis of intermetallic alloy nanocatalysts against sintering and aggregation on porous support materials via strong metal-support interactions (SMSIs) remains challenging. Herein, we report a novel synthesis strategy used to achieve low-temperature-plasma-induced SMSIs on a MgO-supported MAg (M = Cu, Fe, or Ni) system by focusing an electric field at a localized interface. The electric-field-controlled discharge plasma intrinsically promoted the formation of a porous MgO structure. This unique structure comprised partially encapsulated Mag nanoparticles (NPs) with a porous MgO layer and co-localized M and Ag NPs in close proximity. Owing to the uniform size distribution of the intermetallic NPs and the unique surface properties of the porous support, the resulting MAg@MgO catalysts exhibited high activity and excellent reusability toward the reduction of nitro and carbonyl groups. In particular, the conversion efficiency of CuAg@MgO (100% after 20 s) was significantly higher than that of the most commonly used catalysts; moreover, its activity did not decrease after 20 cycles of cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation. We believe that this synthesis route provides a universal method for designing and preparing high-activity supported metal catalysts. Keywords: nanoparticle, catalyst, hydrogenation, nitro-compound, carbonyl-compound. |
Link to abstract |