EXAFS Studies of Bimetallic Ag-Pt and Ag-Pd Nanorods

Nanoparticles of Ag-Pt and Ag-Pd with high aspect ratios were synthesized using a radiolysis method. Gamma rays at dose rates below 0.5 kGy/h were used for irradiation. The nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), optical absorption spectroscopy and x-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. Bright field micrographs show that Ag-Pt nanowires are composed of large particles with diameters ranging from 20-30 nm and joined by filaments of diameter between 2-5 nm. The Ag-Pd nanowires have diameters of 20-25 nm and lengths of 1.5 μm. For XAFS measurements, the Pt L3 edge (11.564 keV), Ag K-edge (25.514 keV) and Pd K-edge (24.350 keV) were excited to determine the local structure around the respective atoms in the cluster. The Ag-Pt particles were found to possess a distinct core-shell structure with Pt in the core surrounded by Ag shell, with no indication of alloy formation. However, nanorods of Ag-Pd have formed an alloy for all the alloy compositions