Projects In-Course

2  .- Novel synthetic methodologies for metal nanocatalyst based in Gold, Palladium and Platinum and the study of their catalytic performance in key reactions.

PI: Dr. Adrián Fernández-Lodeiro

CoPI: Dr. Javier Fernández-Lodeiro

Fungind: 50,000.00 Euros

Catalysis is one of the essential processes in chemistry. With the increases in global pollutants, contamination leads to a devastating global climate change and urgent needs to findand develop new, fast, and greener chemical processes and methodologies. Renewable energy sources, decontamination of wastewater, and reduction of toxic gases emitted into theatmosphere or faster and cleaner reactions that lead to crucial compounds in the synthetic chemistry field are only a few examples of catalysis plays a critical role. Noble metals,such as platinum, palladium, gold or silver, are widely used in catalyst processes. Their remarkable and sometimes unique performance in catalytic reaction systems are well known;however, one of the main drawbacks is the scarce availability. In this sense, it is the responsibility of scientists to seek solutions for the present problems, anticipate those of thefuture and start promoting alternatives. The use of Noble metals in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic applications is of tremendous interest. The interest increased withnovel methodologies in the nanotechnology and catalysis fields. It is possible to finely tune the nanocatalysis up to the atomic level, increasing the population’s surface area andactive centres. It will lead to a drastic reduction of metal needed in comparison with bulk catalysers. Other significant advantages of the nanocatalyst are the possibility to tune themorphology, composition and electronic properties. These advantages can enhance the catalytic activity and stability, critical concepts in the catalysis area. A quick look at theliterature can give the impression that there are already enough methodologies for noble metal nanomaterial synthesis, but the wet chemical approach to produce nanoparticles isfar from complete. The ligands and reducing agents used to control the nanomaterials’ synthesis are surprisingly short, although size, shape and properties are highly dependent onthem. Some synthesis requires several steps reactions, time-consuming procedures or elevated temperatures. Also, the use of organic solvents, strong reducers or toxic compoundsis widely reported. A slight variation in the reaction system can lead to a better process due to modifying the pH, protonation states, redox potential, ionic strength or solubility. Itcan lead to better catalytic properties, faster synthesis, reduced toxicity and allows scalable reactions. Low toxic chemicals, cheap reagents, short reaction times, and moderatetemperatures are preferential and are an essential field of study. Scalable methodologies, environmentally friendly, obtention of highly monodisperse nanoparticles, or a precisecontrol in the functionalisation are some of the challenges that nanoscience is facing nowadays. We propose a simple but elegant approach for advanced synthetic routes of noblemetal nanocatalyst. Based on the well-known oxidation-reduction concepts and our previous expertise in the area, different abundant metals will be applied as reducing agents toprepare more sustainable gold, palladium and platinum nanomaterials. Interestingly, this methodology for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles may not look new. Potters andglassmakers have been using nanomaterial during past centuries to obtain different colours in their creations. A detailed study in their composition during recent years shows thatthey were using multivalent elements such as antimuonium, tin or bismuth to reduce and obtention silver and copper nanomaterials in a silicate substrate, and therefore a variety ofcolours and properties. The design that we propose here would be flexible and convenient to obtain new nanoparticles. The presence of these metals in the reaction medium canimpact the formation and growth of the new nanomaterials, giving birth to new structures and composites that can improve catalytic efficiency. It is worth noticing that any”contamination” of these metals in the final product can positively impact their important catalytic properties. Two well-known methodologies will be applied to achieve this goal,such as direct synthesis and seed-mediated synthesis. Besides, their recovery with bulk or mesoporous silica will be applicated to increase stability and efficiency. To check thecatalytic activity, two well-known reactions will be performed to give us the actual efficiency of these new synthetic routes once compared with the literature. The final goal is to obtain new and more sustainable synthetic routes for nanomaterials with a simple, fast, environmentally friendly, and cheap methodology, contributing with our effort to an essential advance in the nano-chemistry area.