Immobilization of highly active bimetallic PdAu nanoparticles onto nanocarbons for dehydrogenation of formic acid†
Abstract
Highly active bimetallic PdAu nanoparticles (NPs) supported on commercial nanocarbons have been prepared through a simple L-arginine-mediated synthetic approach. The as-synthesized catalysts have been used for the dehydrogenation of formic acid (FA). Remarkably, the resultant Pd1Au1 NPs immobilized onto MSC-30 carbon achieved a turnover frequency (TOF) value of 8355 h−1 at 60 °C in aqueous FA solution without addition of sodium formate, much higher than the results of heterogeneous catalysts reported thus far. The simple small-molecule-mediated synthetic methodology developed herein opens a new path for the practical and large-scale development of high-performance catalysts for a wide range of applications.