Exploring size-dependent optical property alterations in fine-tuning intermetallic PdCd nanocube sizes

Tuning the size of intermetallic nanocrystals is challenging due to the conflicting effects of surface free energy and surface diffusion on the disorder-to-order phase transition during wet-chemistry growth. Herein, we synthesized intermetallic PdCd nanocubes with tunable sizes ranging from 8 to 15 nm by adjusting the Cd precursor concentrations using a wet-chemistry approach. This process shares a mechanism of size tuning similar to quantum dot synthesis, involving the regulation of monomer concentration determined by the precursor concentrations. The intermetallic PdCd nanocubes exhibit distinct size-dependent optical properties compared to platinum group metal nanocrystals of similar size ranges, with increased light-induced catalytic enhancement as size increases. The 15 nm-sized nanocubes exhibited the most significant light-induced catalytic enhancement, reaching 3.3 times, while the 8 nm-sized nanocubes showed only a 1.6-fold enhancement in 4-nitrophenol reduction. This study emphasizes the importance of tuning the size of intermetallic nanocrystals, providing valuable insights for future exploration of their size-dependent properties.