Electrochemical preparation of nanometer sized noble metal particles into a polypyrrole functionalized by a molecular electrocatalyst precursor

Uniform spatial dispersion of a fine distribution of Pd, Ru and Rh nanoparticles has been achieved in a polypyrrole ( ppyr) film functionalized by a cationic precursor of metal - metal bonded polymers [Ru(L)(CO)(2)](n) (L = 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) and derivatives) by using convenient electrochemical techniques. As evidenced by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS), the metal particle sizes in the resulting composite material were found to be in the range from 1 to 6 nm, depending on the metal.