Formation of palladium fullerides and their thermal decomposition into palladium nanoparticles

Formation of palladium fullerides from various Pd:C60 compositions was studied by XRD, Raman spectroscopy and TEM. Raman spectra of PdxC60 samples show close similarity to spectra of C60 polymers obtained under high pressure/high temperature conditions and suggest the formation of chain-like and two-dimensional polymeric structures in PdxC60 of various compositions. Thermal decomposition of PdxC60 results in the formation of fine 5–10 nm size nanoparticles of palladium which can be used for catalytic applications.