TY - JOUR

T1 - Surfactant-Free Colloidal Syntheses of Precious Metal Nanoparticles for Improved Catalysts

AU - Quinson, Jonathan

AU - Kunz, Sebastian

AU - Arenz, Matthias

N1 - Funding Information: M.A. acknowledges funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) project no. 200021_184742. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 American Chemical Society.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Colloidal syntheses of nanomaterials offer multiple benefits to study, understand, and optimize unsupported and supported catalysts. In particular, colloidal syntheses are relevant to the synthesis of (precious) metal nanoparticles. By separating the synthesis of the active phase, i.e., the nanoparticles, from supporting steps, a deeper knowledge and rational control of the properties of supported catalysts is gained. The effect(s) of the size, shape, and composition of the nanoparticle, the nature of the support, or the metal loading on a support can be studied in more systematic ways. The fundamental knowledge gained paves the way for catalyst optimization by tuning the catalyst activity, selectivity, and stability. However, most colloidal syntheses require the use of additives or surfactants, which are detrimental to most catalytic reactions because they typically block catalyst active sites. Surfactant removal is therefore often required, which adds complexity to the synthesis and the analysis of the obtained results. Developing surfactant-free strategies to obtain stable colloidal nanoparticles is therefore a rising field of research that is here reviewed. A focus is given to laser synthesis and processing of colloids-, solution plasma process-, N,N-dimethylformamide-, polyol-, and recently reported monoalcohol-based syntheses. The relevance of these synthetic approaches for catalysis is detailed with a focus on heterogeneous catalysis and electrocatalysis.

AB - Colloidal syntheses of nanomaterials offer multiple benefits to study, understand, and optimize unsupported and supported catalysts. In particular, colloidal syntheses are relevant to the synthesis of (precious) metal nanoparticles. By separating the synthesis of the active phase, i.e., the nanoparticles, from supporting steps, a deeper knowledge and rational control of the properties of supported catalysts is gained. The effect(s) of the size, shape, and composition of the nanoparticle, the nature of the support, or the metal loading on a support can be studied in more systematic ways. The fundamental knowledge gained paves the way for catalyst optimization by tuning the catalyst activity, selectivity, and stability. However, most colloidal syntheses require the use of additives or surfactants, which are detrimental to most catalytic reactions because they typically block catalyst active sites. Surfactant removal is therefore often required, which adds complexity to the synthesis and the analysis of the obtained results. Developing surfactant-free strategies to obtain stable colloidal nanoparticles is therefore a rising field of research that is here reviewed. A focus is given to laser synthesis and processing of colloids-, solution plasma process-, N,N-dimethylformamide-, polyol-, and recently reported monoalcohol-based syntheses. The relevance of these synthetic approaches for catalysis is detailed with a focus on heterogeneous catalysis and electrocatalysis.

KW - catalysis

KW - colloids

KW - electrocatalysis

KW - heterogeneous catalysts

KW - nanoparticles

KW - supported catalysts

KW - surfactant-free

U2 - 10.1021/acscatal.2c05998

DO - 10.1021/acscatal.2c05998

M3 - Review

AN - SCOPUS:85151333956

VL - 13

SP - 4903

EP - 4937

JO - ACS Catalysis

JF - ACS Catalysis

SN - 2155-5435

IS - 7

ER -