Controlled Design of Phase- and Size-Tunable Monodisperse Ni2P Nanoparticles in a Phosphonium-Based Ionic Liquid through Response Surface Methodology

Susan Habas, Courtney Downes, Lucia Mora-Tamez, Gozde Barim, Emily Williamson, Richard Brutchey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus Citations

Abstract

Nanoparticles of nickel phosphide are finding wide ranging utility as catalysts for hydrodesulfurization, hydrogen evolution reaction, and hydrodeoxygenation of bio-oils. Herein, we present a methodology to tailor monodisperse nickel phosphide nanoparticles in terms of size and phase through the use of a statistical response surface methodology. Colloidal nickel phosphide nanoparticles were synthesized by replacing octadecene (ODE), a commonly used organic solvent, by a more sustainable phosphonium-based ionic liquid (IL). The replacement of ODE with the phosphonium-based IL resulted in faster crystallization at lower temperatures to yield phase-pure, monodisperse Ni 2 P nanoparticles. Using a first-order design, the PPh 3 /Ni precursor ratio was identified as the most critical factor influencing the resulting size and phase of the nanoparticles. Optimization using a Doehlert matrix for second-order design yielded a second-degree polynomial equation used to predict the mean diameter of the nanoparticles (over a range of 4-12 nm) as a function of the PPh 3 /Ni precursor ratio and the temperature used during synthesis. The resulting model was validated by performing reactions using randomly chosen sets of conditions; the experimentally determined nanoparticle sizes were in excellent agreement with the theoretical sizes predicted by our model. This demonstrates the utility of a multivariate experimental design as a powerful tool in the development of synthetic strategies toward the preparation of colloidal nanoparticles with highly controlled size, size distribution, and phase.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)1552-1560
Number of pages9
JournalChemistry of Materials
Volume31
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 12 Mar 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Chemical Society.

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-5100-73270

Keywords

  • catalysts
  • nanoparticles
  • nickel phosphide

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Controlled Design of Phase- and Size-Tunable Monodisperse Ni2P Nanoparticles in a Phosphonium-Based Ionic Liquid through Response Surface Methodology'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this