Bimetallic palladium-platinum dendrimer-encapsulated catalysts

We report the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity of bimetallic palladium-platinum dendrimer-encapsulated catalysts (DECs). These materials are prepared by co-complexation of different ratios of palladium and platinum salts to the interior tertiary amines of fourth-generation, hydroxyl-terminated poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers. Chemical reduction of these composites yields stable, fairly monodisperse, water-soluble bimetallic DECs having sizes on the order of 1.9 +/- 0.4 nm. Evidence that these nanoparticles are bimetallic comes from single-particle X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and catalysis experiments. The latter indicate that the hydrogenation rate of allyl alcohol is enhanced in the presence of the bimetallic nanoparticles compared to DECs containing only platinum or only palladium nanoparticles. EDS results indicate that the percentage composition of the bimetallics is reflected by the percentage of metal salts initially complexed with the dendrimer.