TY - JOUR A1 - Simon, Ilka A1 - Hornung, Julius A1 - Barthel, Juri A1 - Thomas, Jörg A1 - Finze, Maik A1 - Fischer, Roland A. A1 - Janiak, Christoph T1 - Synthesis of nickel/gallium nanoalloys using a dual-source approach in 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazole ionic liquids JF - Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology PY - 2019/// VL - 10 SP - 1754 EP - 1767 SN - 2190-4286 DO - 10.3762/bjnano.10.171 PB - Beilstein-Institut JA - Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. UR - https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.10.171 KW - ionic liquids KW - microwave decomposition KW - nickel/gallium nanoparticles KW - semihydrogenation catalysis KW - soft wet-chemical synthesis N2 - NiGa is a catalyst for the semihydrogenation of alkynes. Here we show the influence of different dispersion times before microwave-induced decomposition of the precursors on the phase purity, as well as the influence of the time of microwave-induced decomposition on the crystallinity of the NiGa nanoparticles. Microwave-induced co-decomposition of all-hydrocarbon precursors [Ni(COD)2] (COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) and GaCp* (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) in the ionic liquid [BMIm][NTf2] selectively yields small intermetallic Ni/Ga nanocrystals of 5 ± 1 nm as derived from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and supported by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), selected-area energy diffraction (SAED) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). NiGa@[BMIm][NTf2] catalyze the semihydrogenation of 4-octyne to 4-octene with 100% selectivity towards (E)-4-octene over five runs, but with poor conversion values. IL-free, precipitated NiGa nanoparticles achieve conversion values of over 90% and selectivity of 100% towards alkene over three runs. ER -