Formation of Catalytically Active Nanoparticles under Thermolysis of Silver Chloroplatinate(II) and Chloroplatinate(IV).

The thermal behaviour of Ag2[PtCl4] and Ag2[PtCl6] complex salts in inert and reducing atmospheres has been studied. The thermolysis of compounds in a helium atmosphere is shown to occur in two stages. At the first stage, the complexes decompose in the temperature range of 350-500 °C with the formation of platinum and silver chloride and the release of chlorine gas. At the second stage, silver chloride is sublimated in the temperature range of 700-900 °C, while metallic platinum remains in the solid phase. In contrast to the thermolysis of Ag2[PtCl6], the thermal decomposition of Ag2[PtCl4] at 350 °C is accompanied by significant heat release, which is associated with disproportionation of the initial salt to Ag2[PtCl6], silver chloride, and platinum metal. It is confirmed by DSC measurements, DFT calculations of a suggested reaction, and XRD. The thermolysis of Ag2[PtCl4] and Ag2[PtCl6] compounds is shown to occur in a hydrogen atmosphere in two poorly separable steps. The compounds are decomposed within 170-350 °C, and silver and platinum are reduced to a metallic state, while a metastable single-phase solid solution of Ag0.67Pt0.33 is formed. The catalytic activity of the resulting nanoalloy Ag0.67Pt0.33 is studied in the reaction of CO total (TOX) and preferential (PROX) oxidation. Ag0.67Pt0.33 enhanced Pt nano-powder activity in CO TOX, but was not selective in CO PROX.

Investigation of electronic structure of tri- and tetranuclear molybdenum clusters by X-ray photoelectron and emission spectroscopies and quantum chemical methods.

Charge state studies of compounds [Mo3S4(tu)8(H2O)]Cl4·4H2O (1), [Mo3S4Cl3(dbbpy)3]Cl·5H2O (2), [Mo3S4(CuCl)Cl3(dbbpy)3][CuCl2] (3), containing {Mo3S4}4+ and {Mo3CuS4}5+ cluster cores bearing terminal thiourea (tu) or 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine (dbbpy) ligands, have been performed by X-ray photoelectron and X-ray emission spectroscopies combined with quantum chemical calculations. The best agreement between theory and experiments has been obtained using the B3LYP method. According to the experimental and calculated data, the Mo atoms are in the oxidation state 4+ for all compounds. The energies and shapes of the Cu2p lines indicate formal oxidation states of Cu as 1+. The coordination of Сu(I) to the cluster {Mo3S4} in 3 does not lead to significant changes in the charge state of the molybdenum atoms and the {Mo3S4} unit can be considered as a tridentate metallothia crown ether.