Prof. Sara Skrabalak, Indiana University

Shaping the Synthesis of Bimetallic Nanostructures

Inorganic Chemistry Seminar Series

The physicochemical properties of metal nanocrystals are determined by a set of structural parameters that include their size, shape, composition and architecture.  As a result, there are now well-established strategies to achieve monometallic nanocrystals with defined structural features. However, maintaining this precision during the synthesis of bimetallic nanostructures is daunting on account of the differing properties of each metal and their precursors. These challenges arise from the difficulty in nucleating a defined bimetallic phase via co-reduction of metal precursors. However, coupling co-reduction techniques with a seed-mediated method separates nucleation from growth and enables the synthesis of symmetrically-branched, concave and shape-controlled alloyed nanocrystals. Also, an examination of the local ligand environments of metal precursors provides guidance toward the synthesis of bimetallic nanodendrites via co-reduction techniques. These new synthetic strategies will be discussed in two model systems: Au-Pd and Pd-Pt, and the presentation will conclude with a discussion of the physical properties of these new bimetallic nanostructures.

Select References

(1) Ortiz, N.; Skrabalak, S. E.* “Manipulating Local Ligand Environments for Controlled Nucleation of Metal Nanoparticles and their Assembly into Nanodendrites” Angewandte Chemie, 2012, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201205956.

(2) DeSantis, C. J.; Sue, A. C.; Bower, M. M.; Skrabalak, S. E.* "Seed-Mediated Co-Reduction: A Versatile Route to Architecturally-Controlled Bimetallic Nanostructures" ACS Nano, 2012, 6, 2617-2628.

(3) DeSantis, C. J.; Peverly, A. A.; Peters, D. G.; Skrabalak, S. E.* "Octopods versus Concave Nanocrystals: Control of Morphology by Manipulating the Kinetics of Seeded Growth via Co-Reduction" Nano Letters, 2011, 11, 2164-2168.

For more information contact Prof. Younan Xia (404-385-3209).

Skrabalak website.