Controlled synthesis of snowflake-like self-assemblies palladium nanostructures under microwave irradiation

• We demonstrated the synthesis of snowflake-like palladium nanostructures for the first time.
• We discussed the influencing factors on the synthesis of snowflake-like Pd nanostructures.
• The molar ratio of H2Pd4 to PVP at 5 is the optimal selection.
• The growth process was discussed.

Self-assembly snowflake-like palladium nanostructures were synthesized under microwave irradiation using H2PdCl4 as precursor, benzyl alcohol as both solvent and reducing agent, and PVP as stabilizer. The Pd snowflake-like nanostructures were formed and then characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray powder diffraction. The TEM images showed that the Pd nano-snowflakes were self-assemblies organized by hundreds of small spherical nanoparticles. Pd snowflake-like nanostructures with well-defined shape and uniform size can be obtained by tuning the concentration of palladium precursor, the molar ratio of H2PdCl4/PVP, as well as the heating time by microwave irradiation. The possible growing process of the snowflake-like Pd structures was also proposed on the basis of investigating the properties of as-synthesized Pd nanostructures under different conditions.

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