Carbon nanotubes decorated with palladium nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity

In this article, the in situ preparation of palladium nanoparticles, as mediated by the self-regulated reduction of palladium acetate with the aid of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), followed by subsequent deposition onto single-walled carbon nanotubes and multimalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), is reported. The surfactant SDS plays a dual role, namely, aids the solubilization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and reduces palladium acetate to palladium nanoparticles. The so-formed nanoPd-CNTs hybrid material is soluble in polar solvents, such as methanol and N,N-dimethylformamide. In this work, the nanoPd-CNTs hybrid material is characterized by electronic absorption spectroscopy, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, the catalytic activity of the nanoPd-MWCNTs hybrid material is evaluated toward the reduction of carbon-carbon olefinic bonds as well as the formation of carbon-carbon bonds in the frame of Suzuki and Stille coupling reactions. We conclude that the synthesized nanoPd-MWCNTs hybrid material shows significant catalytic activity, higher than when conventional catalyst is used, in the hydrogenation of olefinic substrates as demonstrated after evaluation of the measured number of turnovers and turnover frequency parameters.