Synthesis of palladium nanoparticles by reaction of filamentous cyanobacterial biomass with a palladium(II) chloride complex

The interaction of cyanobacterial biomass (Plectonema boryanum UTEX 485) with aqueous palladium(II) chloride (PdCl ) has been investigated at 25-100°C for up to 28 days. We report that the release of organic materials from the cyanobacteria promoted the precipitation of Pd(0) as crystalline spherical and elongate nanoparticles (≤30 nm), both in solution and as dispersed and encrusted nanoparticles on cyanobacterial cells. In contrast, under abiotic conditions at 100°C, palladium hydride (PdH ) was the principal palladium phase precipitated, with only minor amounts of palladium metal