132
E. Qayyum et al. / Catalysis Communications 28 (2012) 128–133
was added. Further work is needed to refine the process and the
catalyst to optimize these yields. The overall effort of this contribution
demonstrated a platform to produce CO-free hydrogen from metha-
nol by adding oxygen as a reactant. The technology may be used in
niche applications where pure hydrogen is needed from a small foot-
print reactor.
A subsequent goal of this effort is to use these nanoparticles, demon-
strated here as active catalysts, for phototcatalysis when supported on
titania. The combination of properties of Pt (catalytic and electron
trap), Ag (catalytic and photocatalytic [42–44] and plasmonic [28]),
and titania (photocatalytic and support) to achieve a high performing
photocatalyst for environmental remediation. As with other titania-
based catalysts modified by materials and molecules that absorb visible
light, the use of a broader spectrum of light is expected through synergis-
tic combination of the metal and titania materials. The application of the
metal nanoparticles for the photo-degradation of phenol and phenol
derivatives in aqueous solution is the focus of future examination.
Fig. 5. Comparison of reaction rates for methanol decomposition (MeD) and partial
methanol oxidation (MeOx) at T=350 °C over Pt/silica, Ag/silica, Ag–Pt/silica, and a
physical mixture of Pt/silica and Ag/silica.
Acknowledgment
positive, it is much less likely than hydrogen would become oxidized
because its combination and dissociation rates should increase rapidly.
Then, there is a window of parameter space in the particle restructuring
dynamics (which also depend on conditions and particle composition
and size) in which enhanced hydrogen selectivity with low carbon
dioxide selectivity would exist. Even though this result was not what
was sought, the use of bimetallic catalysts to tune the selectivities to
the desired products in partial methanol oxidation to CO-free hydrogen
is possible. However, the initial selection of materials warrants further
investigation into the desired formulation to maximize hydrogen and
carbon dioxide yields.
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from King Abdulaziz
University and internal funding from the University of South Florida.
Partial support from NSF award number 0851973 is also appreciated.
References
[1] L. Carrette, K.A. Friedrich, U. Stimming, Fuel cells — fundamentals and applications,
Fuel Cells 1 (2001) 5.
[2] C. Ratnasamy, J.P. Wagner, Water gas shift catalysis, Catalysis Reviews 51 (2009)
325–440.
[3] M.M. Yung, Z. Zhao, M.P. Woods, U.S. Ozkan, Preferential oxidation of carbon
monoxide on CoOx/ZrO2, Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 279 (2008)
1–9.
[4] S. Alayoglu, B.W. Eichhorn, Ru–Pt core–shell nanoparticles for preferential oxidation
of carbon monoxide in hydrogen, Nature Materials 7 (2008) 333–338.
[5] V. Subramani, S.K. Gangwal, A review of recent literature to search for an efficient
catalytic process for the conversion of syngas to ethanol, Energy & Fuels 22
(2008) 814–839.
[6] R. Xu, X. Wang, D. Wang, K. Zhou, Y. Li, Surface structure effects in nanocrystal
MnO2 and Ag/MnO2 catalytic oxidation of CO, Journal of Catalysis 237 (2006)
426–430.
[7] R. Perez-Hernandez, A. Gutierrez-Martinez, A. Mayoral, F.L. Deepak, M.E.
Fernandez-Garcia, G. Mondragon-Galicia, M. Miki, M. Jose-Yacaman, Hydrogen
production by steam reforming of methanol over a Ag/ZnO one dimensional catalyst,
Advanced Materials Research 132 (2010) 205–219.
[8] J.G. Chen, C.A. Menning, M.B. Zellner, Monolayer bimetallic surfaces: experimental
and theoretical studies of trends in electronic and chemical properties, Surface
Science Reports 63 (2008) 201–254.
[9] G.A. Somorjai, Y. Li, Introduction to Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, 2nd ed. John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2010.
4. Conclusion and outlook
Pt, Ag, and Pt–Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple,
alcohol reduction and demonstrated size-control on the sub 5 nm
scale. An existing synthesis for Pt nanoparticles was extended to Ag
and bimetallic nanoparticles. Moreover, the unique properties of the
bimetallic Pt–Ag particles, as compared to the physical mixture and
the parent compounds, demonstrated their bimetallic nature. This
synthesis and resulting materials may have many applications includ-
ing photocatalysis because of the ability to tune the plasmonic and
catalytic properties. Here, the particles were demonstrated for their
catalytic properties in hydrogen conversion from methanol. The cata-
lytic activity for partial methanol oxidation was greater than metha-
nol decomposition. However, the catalysts selected here showed
potential for high hydrogen and carbon dioxide yields when oxygen
[10] A. Fukuoka, J. Kimura, T. Oshio, Y. Sakamoto, M. Ichikawa, Preferential oxidation
of carbon monoxide catalyzed by platinum nanoparticles in mesoporous silica,
Journal of the American Chemical Society 129 (2007) 10120–10125.
[11] S. Alayoglu, B.W. Eichhorn, Rh–Pt bimetallic catalysts: synthesis, characterization,
and catalysis of core–shell, alloy, and monometallic nanoparticles, Journal of the
American Chemical Society 130 (2008) 17479–17486.
[12] J.K. Norskov, T. Bligaard, J. Rossmeisl, C.H. Christensen, Towards the computational
design of solid catalysts, Nature Chemistry 1 (2009) 37–46.
[13] Y.-Y. Feng, L.-X. Bi, Z.-H. Liu, D.-S. Kong, Z.-Y. Yu, Significantly enhanced electrocatalytic
activity for methanol electro-oxidation on Ag oxide-promoted PtAg/C catalysts in
alkaline electrolyte, Journal of Catalysis 290 (2012) 18–25.
[14] M.T. Schaal, M.P. Hyman, M. Rangan, S. Ma, C.T. Williams, J.R. Monnier, J.W.
Medlin, Theoretical and experimental studies of Ag–Pt interactions for supported
Ag–Pt bimetallic catalysts, Surface Science 603 (2009) 690–696.
[15] L. Mo, X. Zheng, C.-T. Yeh, Selective production of hydrogen from partial oxidation
of methanol over silver catalysts at low temperatures, Chemical Communications
(2004) 1426–1427.
[16] J.R. Croy, S. Mostafa, H. Heinrich, B.R. Cuenya, Size-selected Pt nanoparticles
synthesized via micelle encapsulation: effect of pretreatment and oxidation
state on the activity for methanol decomposition and oxidation, Catalysis Letters
131 (2009) 21–32.
[17] J.R. Croy, S. Mostafa, J. Liu, Y. Sohn, H. Heinrich, B.R. Cuenya, Support dependence
of MeOH decomposition over size-selected Pt nanoparticles, Catalysis Letters 119
(2007) 209–216.
[18] Y. Wang, J. Ren, K. Deng, L. Gui, Y. Tang, Preparation of tractable platinum, rhodium,
and ruthenium nanoclusters with small particle size in organic media, Chemistry of
Materials 12 (2000) 1622–1627.
Fig. 6. Selectivity of hydrogen and carbon dioxide generation from partial methanol
oxidation at T=350 °C over Pt/silica, Ag/silica, Ag–Pt/silica, and a physical mixture of
Pt/silica and Ag/silica.