Engineering palladium nanocrystals boosting C−C coupling by photocatalysis

As a typical C-C coupling catalyst, the exposed crystalline facets of palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) greatly affect the selectivity and activity of the reaction. Here, we utilize a pioneering photocatalytic dissolution technique to controllably expose specific crystalline facets on Pd NPs. This top-down etching scheme selectively passivates the edges of single-crystal Pd nanocubes and exposes the {111} facets, which results in an 84% increase in photocatalytic Suzuki coupling reaction yields. Moreover, this approach is also applicable to improve the activity of commercial Pd/C, and Pd/Al2O3 catalysts. This technique is expected to open a new path in the field of nanoparticle crystallographic conversion.