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Researchers develop tunable process for creating metallic glass nanoparticles for catalysis

Researchers at NYU Tandon have developed a new method for synthesizing metallic glass nanoparticles that offers refined control over size, composition, and atomic structure—features long sought in the design of advanced catalytic materials used in chemical reactions key to advancements in sustainability and other fields.

In the "Metallic Glass Nanoparticles Synthesized via Flash Joule Heating" published in ACS Nano, a team led by André D. Taylor, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, describes how a technique known as flash Joule heating can rapidly produce amorphous palladium-based nanoparticles with reproducible and tunable features.

Metallic glasses are non-crystalline metals with unique properties, such as enhanced corrosion resistance and catalytic activity. Yet producing them in nanoparticle form with specific characteristics has posed difficulties, especially when it comes to controlling cooling rates during production.

The team's method involves sending an electrical pulse through a precursor material, heating it rapidly and then allowing it to cool at a controlled rate. This process yields metallic glass nanoparticles with consistent sizes—averaging about 2.33 nanometers—and tailored alloy compositions. Among the nanoparticles produced were Pd-P, Pd-Ni-P, and Pd-Cu-P systems.

"Flash Joule heating gives us a way to fine-tune the synthesis process and isolate the effects of phase and composition," said Taylor. "This makes it easier to examine the structure-property relationship in metallic glass systems, especially for applications like electrocatalysis."

To evaluate performance, the researchers tested the amorphous nanoparticles as electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER)—a critical step in electrochemical water splitting. They found that the metallic glass nanoparticles exhibited significantly lower onset potentials, by around 300 millivolts, compared to their crystalline counterparts. The materials also demonstrated stable catalytic behavior over extended operation times of up to 60 hours.

"Metallic glass has been a focus of research in our lab for many years, and this flash Joule heating methodology represents a significant step forward in our ability to synthesize these materials with precision," said Hang Wang (Ph.D. '24), the paper's lead author and a Ph.D. candidate in Taylor's lab at the time of the research.

"What's particularly exciting is how this approach could eventually scale beyond laboratory settings. Unlike other nanomaterial synthesis methods that remain confined to small batches, this technique has the potential to bridge the gap between research and real-world implementation in energy applications."

The study provides a new approach to systematically exploring amorphous alloy systems at the nanoscale and may support ongoing efforts in energy storage, catalysis, and electronic materials development. While the work focuses on palladium-based systems, the method could be adapted for other alloy systems that benefit from amorphous structures.