Ag-Cu Bimetallic Nanoparticles with Enhanced Resistance to Oxidation: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

Abstract

A simple oleylamine-based thermal decomposition process using different time steps for precursor injection was used to obtain bimetallic AgCu nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution. Experimental and theoretical studies were carried out to demonstrate that these bimetallic nanoparticles are less prone to oxidation. The calculated energy trends for O-2 adsorption on the nanoparticles show that the adsorption energy declines rapidly when more than six O-2 molecules are present, indicating that O-2 is rarely adsorbed on AgCu nanoparticles. Electron transfer from Cu to Ag within these bimetallic nanoparticles allows far better resistance to oxidation than monometallic Cu nanoparticles.