Identifying the Atomic-Level Effects of Metal Composition on the Structure and Catalytic Activity of Peptide-Templated Materials.
Bioinspired approaches for the formation of metallic nanomaterials have been extensively employed for a diverse range of applications including diagnostics and catalysis. These materials can often be used under sustainable conditions; however, it is challenging to control the material size, morphology, and composition simultaneously. Here we have employed the R5 peptide, which forms a 3D scaffold to direct the size and linear shape of bimetallic PdAu nanomaterials for catalysis. The materials were prepared at varying Pd:Au ratios to probe optimal compositions to achieve maximal catalytic efficiency. These materials were extensively characterized at the atomic level using transmission electron microscopy, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, and atomic pair distribution function analysis derived from high-energy X-ray diffraction patterns to provide highly resolved structural information. The results confirmed PdAu alloy formation, but also demonstrated that significant surface structural disorder was present. The catalytic activity of the materials was studied for olefin hydrogenation, which demonstrated enhanced reactivity from the bimetallic structures. These results present a pathway to the bioinspired production of multimetallic materials with enhanced properties, which can be assessed via a suite of characterization methods to fully ascertain structure/function relationships.
Department of Chemistry, University of Miami , 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States.
Nicholas A
NA
Merrill
Department of Chemistry, University of Miami , 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States.
Erik M
EM
McKee
Department of Chemistry, University of Miami , 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States.
Kyle C
KC
Merino
Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base , Dayton, Ohio 45433, United States.
Lawrence F
LF
Drummy
X-Ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory , 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States.
Sungsik
S
Lee
X-Ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory , 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States.
Benjamin
B
Reinhart
X-Ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory , 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States.
Yang
Y
Ren
Department of Physics, Yeshiva University , New York, New York 10016, United States.
Anatoly I
AI
Frenkel
Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base , Dayton, Ohio 45433, United States.
Rajesh R
RR
Naik
Department of Chemistry, University of Miami , 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States.|Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base , Dayton, Ohio 45433, United States.|Applied Chemicals and Materials Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology , Boulder, Colorado 80305, United States.
Nicholas M
NM
Bedford
Department of Chemistry, University of Miami , 1301 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States.
Marc R
MR
Knecht
D002384:Catalysis; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
D010455:Peptides; D012834:Silver; D006046:Gold
X-ray analysis; bimetallic nanostructures; bioinspired; catalysis; peptide templates