(150f) Biogenic Aqueous-Phase Palladium Mineralization in the Absence of External Reducing Agents

A new synthetic strategy enabling highly controlled aqueous-phase palladium mineralization on the Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is demonstrated without the addition of external reducing agents. This low cost, solution based processing method yields continuous and uniform coatings of palladium on TMV, creating highly uniform palladium nanowires of tens of nanometers in thickness and hundreds of nanometers in length. This new approach utilizes a palladium chloride precursor to produce metallic Pd coatings on TMV without the need for an externally added reducing agent. XPS and in-situ TEM were used to confirm the reduction of the surface palladium oxide layer on the palladium metal wires during room temperature hydrogenation. This leads to metallic palladium nanowires with surfaces free of residual organics, making these structures suitable for applications in nanoscale electronics.