Carbon-Aerogel-Supported\nNoble-Metal Nanoparticles\nas Hydrogenation Catalysts

Abstract

We\nreport a one-pot hydrothermal route for the atom-economical\nbiosynthesis of C-aerogel-supported noble-metal nanoparticles. A simple\nsugar derived from hemicellulose, e.g., xylose, and a natural phenol\nproduced by brown algae, e.g., phloroglucinol, were used as renewable\nand abundant precursors. We demonstrated the versatility of the one-pot\nhydrothermal route to prepare Pt/C and Ru/C nanocomposites with tunable\nproperties of both the carbonaceous support and supported metal nanoparticles.\nWe obtained Ru nanoparticles with an unusual face-centered-cubic structure.\nThe Pt/C aerogel nanocomposites showed competitive properties as catalysts\nfor a model hydrogenation reaction compared with analogous M/C catalysts.