Studies on the Synthesis and Characterization of Pd-TiO2-SiO2 Nanocomposite for Electroanalytical Applications

Abstract

A nanocomposite of Pd-TiO2-SiO2 is developed through a sol-gel process from the reaction products of titanium isopropoxide followed by mixing the same with palladium linked 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane. The reaction product is sonicated and calcinated to obtain the nanocomposite of Pd-TiO2-SiO2. The calcination at 600°C yielded an amorphous structure whereas at 900°C it resulted into a nanocrystalline structure. The nanocomposite of palladium was further characterized by TEM, XRD, IR and EDS. The material acts as an efficient electrocatalyst. Electrocatalysis of ascorbic acid is observed at 0.1V vs. Ag/AgCl, shows linearity between 1μM and 1mM in 0.1M phosphate buffer (pH7.0). Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.