Water-dispersible Ru(0) nanorods with high aspect ratio: Microwave synthesis, characterization, formation mechanism and catalytic activity

Water-dispersible Ru(0) nanorods with high aspect ratio have been successfully prepared by alcohol reduction using microwave heating. For the alcohol reduction, n-propanol was used as solvent and, reducer and poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) were used as stabilizer. The effects of the reactant concentrations on the morphology and size of the Ru(0) nanorods were discussed. The catalytic activity of water dispersible Ru(0) nanorods was also investigated in hydrogen generation from the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride. The structure and morphology of the prepared samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectrum, Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FT-IR) and elemental analysis (ICP-AES). A possible formation mechanism for the Ru(0) nanorods based on the experimental results was also proposed. The water-dispersible Ru(0) nanorods provided a lower apparent activation energy (E-a = 33.4 +/- 1 kJ/mol) than bulk Ru(0) metal and other reported Ru-based supported catalysts for the hydrolysis of NaBH4.