Preparation of palladium nanoparticles functionalized with biferrocene thiol derivatives and their electro-oxidative deposition

The first preparation of functional molecule-modified Pd nanoparticles was performed by an exchange reaction of octyl thiolate-covered Pd nanoparticles of diameter d = 3.8 +/- 0.8 nm with the biferrocene-terminated alkanethiol, (eta (5)-C5H5)Fe(C10H8)Fe (eta (5)-C5H4CO(CH2)(7)SH). The biferrocene-modified Pd nanoparticles underwent two-step one-electron oxidation in aprotic solvents. By electrochemical oxidation of the biferrocene moieties, a redox-active Pd nanoparticle film was formed on the electrode. The STM image revealed that the electrodeposition of Pd nanoparticles constructs a moderately flat film.