Size control and supporting of palladium nanoparticles made by laser ablation in saline solution as a facile route to heterogeneous catalysts

In the literature many investigations on colloidal stability and size control of gold nanoparticles are shown but less for ligand-free palladium nanoparticles, which can be promising materials in various applications. Palladium nanoparticles are perspective materials for a manifold of energy application like photo- and electrocatalysis or hydrogen storage. For this purpose, size-controlled nanoparticles with clean surfaces and facile immobilization on catalyst supports are wanted. Laser ablation in saline solution yields ligandfree, charged colloidal palladium nanoparticles that are supported by titania and graphene nanosheets as model systems for photo- and electrocatalysis, respectively. By adjusting the ionic strength during laser ablation in liquid, it is possible to control stability and particle size without compromising subsequent nanoparticle adsorption of supporting materials. A quantitative deposition of nearly 100% yield with up to 18 wt% nanoparticle load was achieved. The average size of the laser-generated nanoparticles remains the same after immobilization on a support material, in contrast to other preparation methods of catalysts. The characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals a redox reaction between the immobilized nanoparticles and the graphene support. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.