Open Access
Biotechnological synthesis of Pd/Ag and Pd/Au nanoparticles for enhanced Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling activity
Author(s) -
Kimber Richard L.,
Parmeggiani Fabio,
Neill Thomas S.,
Merroun Mohamed L.,
Goodlet Gregory,
Powell Nigel A.,
Turner Nicholas J.,
Lloyd Jonathan R.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
microbial biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.287
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 1751-7915
DOI - 10.1111/1751-7915.13762
Subject(s) - bimetallic strip , catalysis , shewanella oneidensis , nanoparticle , palladium , scanning transmission electron microscopy , extended x ray absorption fine structure , metal , xanes , absorption spectroscopy , suzuki reaction , materials science , chemistry , transmission electron microscopy , nuclear chemistry , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , combinatorial chemistry , spectroscopy , bacteria , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , biology , engineering , genetics
Summary Bimetallic nanoparticle catalysts have attracted considerable attention due to their unique chemical and physical properties. The ability of metal‐reducing bacteria to produce highly catalytically active monometallic nanoparticles is well known; however, the properties and catalytic activity of bimetallic nanoparticles synthesized with these organisms is not well understood. Here, we report the one‐pot biosynthesis of Pd/Ag (bio‐Pd/Ag) and Pd/Au (bio‐Pd/Au) nanoparticles using the metal‐reducing bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis , under mild conditions. Energy dispersive X‐ray analyses performed using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) revealed the presence of both metals (Pd/Ag or Pd/Au) in the biosynthesized nanoparticles. X‐ray absorption near‐edge spectroscopy (XANES) suggested a significant contribution from Pd(0) and Pd(II) in both bio‐Pd/Ag and bio‐Pd/Au, with Ag and Au existing predominately as their metallic forms. Extended X‐ray absorption fine‐structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) supported the presence of multiple Pd species in bio‐Pd/Ag and bio‐Pd/Au, as inferred from Pd–Pd, Pd–O and Pd–S shells. Both bio‐Pd/Ag and bio‐Pd/Au demonstrated greatly enhanced catalytic activity towards Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling compared to a monometallic Pd catalyst, with bio‐Pd/Ag significantly outperforming the others. The catalysts were very versatile, tolerating a wide range of substituents. This work demonstrates a green synthesis method for novel bimetallic nanoparticles that display significantly enhanced catalytic activity compared to their monometallic counterparts.