Palladium nanostructures: Solvent-less, one-pot mechano-chemical synthesis using poly(vinylpyrolidone) and catalytic activity

Palladium nanoparticles are synthesized by an one-step, solvent-less, mechano-chemical reduction of potassium tetrachloropalladate(II) using an amphiphilic organic polymer, poly(vinylpyrrolidone). We demonstrate that poly(vinylpyrrolidone) can act both as reducing as well as capping agent in the solid state, without a solvent, for the synthesis of palladium nanoparticles at room temperature in conjunction with vibration milling. Besides, as an example, the application of the dendritic-like palladium nanoparticles as a catalyst is also investigated for the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol at room temperature.