Tunable bimetallic Au–Pd@CeO2 for semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene by ammonia borane

Abstract

The fabrication of a bimetallic core and ceria shell nanostructure is considered a promising way to promote catalytic performance and stability. Here, we report an Au–Pd@CeO₂ core–shell structure with a tunable Au/Pd ratio through a self-assembly autoredox reaction approach. This process involves the sequence reduction of Au and Pd precursors and then self-assembly of CeO₂ nanoparticles to encapsulate the noble metal core. The as-obtained samples exhibit excellent activity and selectivity towards the ammonia borane initiated hydrogenation of phenylacetylene with an enhanced stability owing to the protection from outside CeO₂ nanoparticles. Through the construction of an Au–Pd bimetallic structure, an electron modification of Pd due to charge transfer between Au and Pd results in an enhanced catalytic performance. Such a strategy is promising for the synthesis of other bimetallic noble core and ceria shell structures for further applications.