Preparation and characterization of bimetallic nanoparticles Pt _x-Pd_1-x supported on silica

Pt_x-Pd_(1-x) nanoparticles supported on amorphous silica (SiO₂) were prepared by wetness impregnation techniques with choroplatinic acid (H₂PtCl₆) and palladium chloride (PdCl₄) with different concentrations of Pt and Pd at about 1% in overall metallic weight. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical properties as physisorption (BET), X Ray Diffraction XRD, High Resolution Electron Microscopy HREM, Transmission Electron Microscopy TEM couple with XEDS energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and chemical properties to determine the activity in cyclohexene reaction of these materials supported. Bimetallic nanoparticles are made of a single solid solution of Pt and Pd atoms, and the particles diameter of about 3-5 nm was estimated by HREM and Bright field image, the Pt-Pd nanoparticles were found mainly to have truncated cuboctahedral shape with fee packing,. by using energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (XEDS) and their values were found to be close to the stochiometric relative concentrations in weight of the metals in the precursor aqueous solution.