Near ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) is a promising method to close the "pressure gap", and thus, study the surface composition during heterogeneous reactions in situ. The specialized spectrometers necessary for this analytical technique have recently been adapted to operate with a conventional X-ray source, making it available for routine quantitative analysis in the laboratory. This is shown in the present in situ study of the partial oxidation of 2-propanol catalyzed with PdO nanoparticles supported on TiO2, which was investigated under reaction conditions as a function of gas composition (alcohol-to-oxygen ratio) and temperature. Exposure of the nanoparticles to 2-propanol at 30 °C leads to immediate partial reduction of the PdO, followed by a continuous reduction of the remaining PdO during heating. However, gaseous oxygen inhibits the reduction of PdO below 90 °C, and the oxidation of 2-propanol to carboxylates only occurs in the presence of oxygen above 90 °C. These results support the theory that metallic palladium is the active catalyst material, and they show that environmental conditions affect the nanoparticles and the reaction process significantly. The study also revealed challenges and limitations of this analytical method. Specifically, the intensity and fixed photon energy of a conventional X-ray source limit the spectral resolution and surface sensitivity of lab-based NAP-XPS, which affect precision and accuracy of the quantitative analysis.
An original synthetic route, based on the combination of a single-source precursor, UV-photodegradation and inverse w/o miniemulsion, is used to prepare Au nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed on titania. The source of the nanocomposite materials is the photolabile single-source precursor AuCl4(NH4)7[Ti2(O2)2(cit)(Hcit)]2·12H2O, which is suspended in a w/o miniemulsion consisting of different surfactant/hydrocarbon/water formulations (surfactant: sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) or Triton X-100) and subsequently irradiated with a UV lamp to promote its decomposition in the confined space of the droplets. Gold NPs that form at room temperature are found to be crystalline, while titanium dioxide occurs as an amorphous phase. Moreover, the average crystallite size of gold NPs ranges between 20 and 24 nm when using SDS and between 26 and 40 nm in the case of Triton X-100, after 4 and 8 hours of irradiation time, respectively. Scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM) are used to get information about the nanocomposite morphology and nanostructure, revealing that gold NPs are uniformly distributed on the titanium oxide surface. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) outcomes, besides confirming the formation of both metallic gold and titania, provide information about the high dispersion of Au NPs on the TiO2 surface. In fact, the Au : Ti atomic ratio is found to be 0.45-1.5 (1 : 2-1.5 : 1), which is higher than the value determined by starting from the precursor stoichiometry (0.25). Catalytic testing in the oxidation of 2-propanol shows that decomposition of the precursor in a miniemulsion provides a nanocomposite with enhanced activity compared to the decomposition in the aqueous phase.
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