Synthesis of PtPd bimetal nanocrystals with controllable shape, composition, and their tunable catalytic properties

We report a facile synthetic strategy to single-crystalline PtPd nanocrystals with controllable shapes and tunable compositions. In the developed synthesis, the molar ratio of the starting precursors determines the composition in the final PtPd nanocrystals, while the halides function as the shape-directing agent to induce the formation of PtPd nanocrystals with cubic or octahedral/tetrahedral morphology. These obtained PtPd nanocrystals exhibit high activity in the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene, and their performance is highly shape- and composition-dependent with Pt in ∼50% showing the optimum activity and the {100}-facet-enclosed PtPd nanocrystals demonstrating a higher activity than the {111}-facet-bounded PtPd nanocrystals.