Structural characterization of bimetallic Pd-Cu vapor derived catalysts

Pd-Cu bimetallic Solvated Metal Atoms (SMA) were synthesized by metal vapor synthesis technique and supported on PVPy resin. Since the catalytic activity, of the Pd-Cu system turned out to be quite high also compared to the corresponding monometallic system, a structural characterization, using electron microscopy techniques and X-ray Absorption Fine Structure spectroscopy, was performed. HRTEM analysis showed the presence of Pd particles distributed in a narrow range with a mean diameter of about 2.5 nm while the XAFS analysis, confirmed the presence of the Pd nanoparticles but revealed also some alloying with Cu atoms.