Towards an understanding of the chemisorption and catalytic activity of Pd$_{X}$Ru$_{1-X}$ nanoparticles using photoelectron spectroscopy

Chemisorption process and catalytic activity of CO to CO2 conversion on PdXRu1-X (X : 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 and 1) extended as a benchmark for further investigation of very complex nanoparticle (NP) structures have been checked into thoroughly by using the synchrotron-based hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES). Assessment and diagnostic of core levels and valence bands data highlight valuable information regarding the surface interaction and structure of PdRu bimetallic nanoparticles (BM-NPs). Core level shift observed from the C 1s clearly emphasized that the Pd0.5Ru0.5 NPs which provide the highest catalytic efficiency (CO oxidation) exhibits a preferential adsorption of the CO molecule at the top site. Otherwise, our results also display that remaining NPs exhibit two components assigned to the bridge and hollow CO sites. Combination of Pd 3d5/2 and Ru 3p3/2 core levels results points out a transition from alloy structures to core-shell configuration with increasing the molar ratio of Ru. Valence-band maximum (VBM) demonstrates a position dependent to the molar composition of Ru. Additionally, by digging into the electronic structures (shape and width) of each NPs very deeply, we clearly emphasise the valuable relationship between composition, atomic arrangement, d-band and catalytic properties of bimeatllic PdRu. According to the HAXPES results, the strong and clear evidence for the enhanced CO to CO2 conversion ability of Pd0.5Ru0.5-NP may be assigned to the existence of a most favourable spatial d-band extension and an optimum balance between the core-shell and alloy structures. Electronic and chemical data and interpretations are consistent with the PdRu catalytic performances. This present prospection gives a new step towards a better knowledge on the catalytic surface interaction of binary, ternary and multimetallic NPs with reactants.