Characterization of the Ni-Zn/TiO₂ nanocomposite synthesized by the liquid-phase selective-deposition method

The characterization of Ni-Zn/TiO₂ nanocomposite synthesized by the liquid-phase selective-deposition method was studied. Nanoparticles were well dispersed and stabilized by the selective deposition onto TiO₂ surface. The particle size was decreased with increasing the amount of Zn added, thus the catalytically active Ni surface area was increased. The selective deposition onto TiO₂ surface and addition of Zn to the nanoparticles promoted the catalytic activity of Ni-Zn nanoparticles, e.g. the catalytic activity of Ni-Zn/TiO₂ for 1-octene hydrogenation was ca. 10 times higher than that of the unsupported Ni nanoparticles. Ni in the nanocomposite was assigned as metallic, although their surface was oxidized under the atmospheric condition, but Zn and B were deposited as their oxide.