An aqueous synthesis of porous PtPd nanoparticles with reversed bimetallic structures for highly efficient hydrogen generation from ammonia borane hydrolysis

Fine construction of porous bimetallic nanomaterials with tunable components and structures is of great importance for their catalytic performance and durability. Herein, we present a facile and mild one-pot route for the preparation of the porous PtPd bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) with reversed structures in aqueous solution for the first time. To this end, a common ionic liquid (IL) of 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C16mim]Cl) is utilized to direct the growth and assembly of porous structures of PtPd NPs. It is shown that the as-prepared porous Pt25Pd75 NPs have obvious hierarchical structures with nanoflowers as subunits and nanorods as basic units. The elemental components and structures of the porous PtPd NPs can be tuned by precursor ratio and [C16mim]Cl concentration. Furthermore, varied porous PtPd bimetallic structures from Pd-on-Pt to Pt-on-Pd may be efficiently switched by controlling the concentration of glycine. Owing to high specific surface area, porous hierarchical structures (including mesopores and micropores), and probable electronic effects between Pt and Pd, the porous Pt25Pd75 NPs (Pd-on-Pt structure) is found to exhibit prominent catalytic activity and high stability for hydrogen production from hydrolysis of ammonia borane.