Angewandte
Chemie
DOI: 10.1002/anie.200703755
Shape-Controlled Nanoparticles
A Water-Based Synthesis of Octahedral, Decahedral, and Icosahedral
Pd Nanocrystals**
Byungkwon Lim, Yujie Xiong, and Younan Xia*
Noble-metal nanocrystals have attracted increasing attention
owing to their potential use in catalysis, electronics, and
biology.[1] The physicochemical properties of these nano-
crystals are highly sensitive to their shape and size. For
example, the number, location, and intensity of surface
plasmon resonance (SPR) bands of Au and Ag nanocrystals
display a strong correlation with the shape of the particle.[2]
Furthermore, the reactivity and selectivity of metal nano-
catalysts depend strongly on the crystallographic planes
exposed on the surface of the particles and can therefore be
tuned by controlling the morphology of these particles.[3] An
exquisite shape control of noble metal nanocrystals is there-
fore highly desirable for tailoring their properties and is also
required for high performance in many applications.
Palladium nanocrystals are widely used as primary
catalysts for the low-temperature reduction of automobile
pollutants, hydrogenation reactions, and organic reactions
such as Suzuki, Heck, and Stille coupling.[4] Pd is also well-
known for its remarkable capacity in hydrogen absorption.[5]
Most of these applications are related to the adsorption of
hydrogen onto the surface of Pd nanocrystals. Recent studies
have revealed that the hydrogen-absorption capacity and
surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of Pd
nanocrystals are dependent on their shape.[6,7] A wide variety
of Pd nanocrystals, including cuboctahedra, cubes, rods, and
bars, have been prepared to date, mostly by the polyol
method, in which ethylene glycol (EG) serves as both a
reductant and a solvent.[8] However, the major products of a
polyol synthesis are often restricted to shapes such as
truncated cubes or cuboctahedra, owing to the fast reduction
and growth rate associated with the polyol process.
an octahedron and a decahedron are two particle shapes that
face-centered cubic (fcc) noble metals can potentially take,
although high-yield syntheses of these two types of nano-
structures are yet to be realized for Pd.[11]
The formation of a particular shape in the synthesis of
metal nanocrystals is often explained in terms of the presence
of surfactants or capping agents,[8,10] which can change the
order of free energies of different facets through their
interactions with the metal surface in a solution-phase
synthesis.[12] This alteration may significantly affect the
relative growth rates of different facets and thus lead to
different morphologies for the final products. To achieve
shape control of a nanocrystal, however, not only the
thermodynamics or physical restrictions imposed by the
surface stabilizing agent must be considered, but also
nucleation and kinetics. Herein, we report on a water-based
system for the facile synthesis of Pd nanocrystals with various
shapes by reducing a Pd precursor with citric acid. Citric acid
or citrate ion can also serve as a capping agent in this system
thanks to their strong binding to the {111} facets of Pd.[10,13]
More specifically, we demonstrate that citric acid favors the
formation of a structure such as an octahedron, icosahedron,
or decahedron whose surface is covered by {111} planes. We
also demonstrate that the shape of the Pd nanocrystals can be
controlled by varying the concentrations of the Pd precursor
and citric acid. We have been able to selectively produce Pd
octahedra, icosahedra, and decahedra in high yields using this
simple approach.
The synthesis was conducted in an aqueous solution
containing Na2PdCl4, PVP, and citric acid at 908C for 26 h.
Na2PdCl4 and PVP are used as a Pd precursor and a stabilizer,
respectively. Citric acid serves as a mild reductant and a
capping agent in a manner similar to the mechanism of a
conventional citrate-based synthesis of gold or other noble-
metal nanoparticles.[14] Several hours into the reaction, the
color of the solution changed from light yellow to deep brown,
thereby indicating the formation of Pd nanocrystals. We
explored a range of concentrations for both Na2PdCl4 (5.8–
17.4 mm) and citric acid (0.13–0.39m) to determine the
optimal conditions for the preparation of Pd nanocrystals
with different shapes.
An alternative water-based system could provide a more
convenient and environmentally benign route to the synthesis
of noble-metal nanocrystals, because it does not involve toxic
organic solvents or reagents. Recently, our group reported the
syntheses of Pd thin plates and icosahedra in aqueous solution
using poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and citric acid as the
reducing agent, respectively.[9,10] It is worth pointing out that
[*] Dr. B. Lim, Dr. Y. Xiong, Prof. Y. Xia
Department of Chemistry, University of Washington
Seattle, Washington 98195 (USA)
Figure 1 shows scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and
transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of Pd
octahedra synthesized in the presence of 7.3 mm Na2PdCl4
and 0.13m citric acid with a molar ratio of the repeating unit
of PVP to the Pd precursor of 5:1. The sample contains
approximately 90% octahedra with edge lengths of approx-
imately 20 nm and around 10% other shapes, including
triangular plates and decahedra (see also Figure S1 in the
Supporting Information). Although an octahedral shape has
E-mail: xia@chem.washington.edu
[**] This work was supported in part by grants from the ACS (PRF-
44353-AC10) and the NSF (DMR-0451788), and a subcontract from
GEMSEC, an MRSEC program on the UW campus sponsored by
NSF. Y.X. is a Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar (2002–2007). B.L.
was partially supported by the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of
the Korea Research Foundation (KRF).
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 9279 –9282
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
9279
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