Highly facile and efficient assembly of palladium nanoparticles on polystyrene microspheres and their application in catalysis

Abstract

Catalytic applications of supported palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) in the liquid phase reactions are of considerable importance. Herein the polystyrene/palladium (PS/Pd) composite particles composed of PS microspheres decorated with PdNPs with different sizes are prepared facilely and effectively based on a thermodynamic effect. Compared with the reported synthetic methods, surface functionalizations or modifications of PS microspheres and PdNPs are not necessary at all. The formation of PS/Pd composite particles has been demonstrated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Finally, the catalytic performance of as-prepared PS/Pd composite particles is investigated during the reduction of p-nitrophenol by sodium borohydride, and noticeably, they have shown a high catalytic activity and a good stability.