An important area in green chemistry is the identification of new catalysts that are effective in the conversion of products derived from biomass into commodity chemicals. The catalysts must be designed so that they function in an aqueous environment, are homogeneous in their morphology and can effectively function as reducing agents. We have investigated the effectiveness of size and shape controlled nanoparticles composed of nickel and their alloys, toward the reduction of organic acids. The nanoparticles were synthesized using a pyrolysis reaction. The resulting nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. We compared the results of organic acid conversion using nickel nanoparticles alone relative to their alloy counterparts. The results showed that the bimetallic nanoparticles had superior catalytic activity relative to the monometallic nanoparticles. The synthetic procedures and characterization of the monometallic and bimetallic nanoparticles as well as the catalytic activity will be presented.

Synthesis, catalytic properties, and immobilization of monodisperse bimetallic alloy nickel-based nanoparticles

245th National Meeting (2013)

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