Vapor phase synthesis and characterization of bimetallic alloy and supported nanoparticle catalysts

The laser vaporization controlled condensation (LVCC) technique coupled with a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) is used to synthesize size-selected alloy nanoparticles and nanoparticle catalyst systems. The formation of Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles is concluded from the observation of only one plasmon band. The maximum of the plasmon absorption is found to vary linearly with the gold mole fraction. For the Au-Pd system, the XRD data confirms the formation of the alloy nanoparticles with no evidence of any of the pure components. The Au/CeO2 nanoparticle catalyst prepared by the LVCC method is a promising catalyst for low temperature CO oxidation due to its high activity and stability.