Reactive laser ablation in acetone towards phase-controlled nonequilibrium Iron- and Nickel-Bi2O3 nanoalloys

Abstract

The ongoing development of new nanocatalysts is powered by the ambitious vision of finely controlling their structure while ensuring their remarkable features in heterogeneous chemical reactions. Especially in processes where the catalysts must be recycled, the union of catalytic activity and magnetic motility belongs among the most desirable characteristics. In recent years, the effort to optimize this synergy in photocatalysis has led to a focus on creating bismuth-based bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs), also known as nanoalloys. Nevertheless, the optimization of their properties and sustainable development still need to be well-considered. Therefore, we herein present for the first time the synthesis of phase-controlled nickel-Bi2O3 and iron-Bi2O3 NPs, whose non-equilibrium composition is provided by the sustainable method known as reactive laser ablation in liquids (RLAL), resulting in a bandgap modification in both types of magnetic nanoalloys. In addition, the profound analyses of RLAL introduce the first report about the limitations and new perspectives of this relatively novel nanotechnology, in which the usage of chemically similar magnetic foils (iron and nickel) leads to extensively different NPs compositions and properties. Overall, these findings provide a groundwork for understanding the formation of non-equilibrium nanoalloys representing a rising generation of nanocatalysts.