(418f) Facile One Pot Synthesis of Palladium-Based Alloy Wavy Nanowires for Hydrogen Separation

Palladium and palladium alloy nanowires (PdM; M= Ag, Cu, Y) of varying composition were synthesized using a facile and scalable one-pot polyol reduction of metallic salts using poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) as a capping agent. The alloy nanowires with high surface area and interconnected dendritic network structure could provide efficient transport pathways for hydrogen through a membrane. Incorporation of an appropriate amount of a metal like Ag, Cu, or Y can increase the permeability of hydrogen through the metal while reducing the usage of palladium. Mixed-matrix membranes containing the palladium alloy nanowires dispersed in poly(benzimidazole) (PBI) polymer and their separation performance was tested at 150 Ö¯C and 100 psig for separation of hydrogen from a 1:1 mixture of H₂ and CO₂. Initial test results show increased permeability of H₂ up to 52.7 barrer and with pure PBI membrane containing 50 weight percent Pd_0.76Ag_0.24 alloy nanowires 43.9 barrer as compared to just 25 barrer of pure PBI membrane.