El-Demellawi Jehad K, Holt Christopher R, Abou-Hamad Edy, Al-Talla Zeyad A, Saih Youssef, Chaieb Sahraoui
†Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
‡KAUST Catalysis Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2015 Jul 1;7(25):13794-800. doi: 10.1021/acsami.5b01231. Epub 2015 Jun 17.
Although silicon nanoparticles dispersed in liquids are used in various applications ranging from biolabeling to hydrogen production, their reactivities with their solvents and their catalytic properties remain still unexplored. Here, we discovered that, because of their surface structures and mechanical strain, silicon nanoparticles react strongly with their solvents and may act as catalysts for the dehydrogenation, at room temperature, of secondary alcohols (e.g., isopropanol) into ketones and hydrogen. This catalytic reaction was monitored by gas chromatography, pH measurements, mass spectroscopy, and solid-state NMR. This discovery provides new understanding of the role played by silicon nanoparticles, and nanosilicon in general, in their reactivity in solvents in general, as well as being candidates in catalysis.
