Palladium and ruthenium nanoparticles: Reactivity and coordination at the metallic surface

In the last decade, metallic nanoparticles have been largely applied in catalysis, taking advantage of their surface as well as of their ability to give molecular species. From a mechanistic point of view, the comprehension of the interaction of the stabilizer, solvent or substrate with the metallic surface is essential to understand the catalytic behaviour observed in particular under mild conditions in liquid phase. In the present review, we focus on the NMR studies in solution carried out for palladium and ruthenium nanoparticles in order to explain the catalytic behaviour observed, especially in C–C bond formation processes.