Preparation of Partially Poisoned Alkanethiolate-Capped Platinum Nanoparticles for Hydrogenation of Activated Terminal Alkynes

Stable and isolable alkanethiolate-stabilized Pt nanoparticles (PtNP) were synthesized using the two-phase thiosulfate method with sodium S-alkylthiosulfate as ligand precursor. The mechanistic formation of octanethiolate-capped PtNP (Pt-SC8) from both sodium S-octylthiosulfate and 1-octanethiol ligands was investigated by using 1H NMR and UV–vis spectroscopies, which revealed the formation of different Pt complexes as the reaction intermediates. The synthesis using S-octylthiosulfate ligand precursor produced Pt-SC8 in higher yields than that using 1-octanethiol ligand. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by 1H NMR, UV–vis spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results obtained from 1H NMR, IR, and UV–vis spectroscopy were consistent with the formation of stable and pure alkanethiolate-capped PtNP. TEM images of PtNP confirmed their small average core size (∼1.5 nm) and high monodispersity. The partially poisoned PtN...