In this article we describe the synthesis, characterization, and applications of dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles (DENs). These materials are synthesized using a template approach in which metal ions are extracted into the interior of dendrimers and then subsequently reduced chemically to yield nearly size-monodisperse particles having diameters in the 1-2 nm range. Monometallic, bimetallic (alloy and core@shell), and semiconductor nanoparticles have been prepared by this route. The dendrimer component of these composites serves not only as a template for preparing the nanoparticle replica, but also as a stabilizer for the nanoparticle. In this perspective, we report on progress in the synthesis, characterization, and applications of these materials since our last review in 2005. Significant advances in the synthesis of core@shell DENs, characterization, and applications to homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis (including electrocatalysis) are emphasized.

Dendrimer-encapsulated Au nanoparticles comprised of an average of 147 atoms were synthesized and immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode. A one-atom-thick shell of Cu was added to the Au core by electrochemical underpotential deposition, and then this shell was replaced with Pt by galvanic exchange. The results indicate that this synthetic approach leads to well-defined core/shell nanoparticles <2 nm in diameter. The rates of oxygen reduction at the Au@Pt electrocatalysts were compared to Pt-only and Au-only, 147-atom dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles.

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Energy storage concepts based on multivalent ion chemistries, such as Mg 2+ , promise very high volumetric energy density, however require improvements in electrolyte (Mg salt and solvent) electrochemical window to reach their full potential. Hypothetically the window of Mg salt could be widened by disfavoring the cathodic decomposition pathway of a thermodynamically and anodically stable anion, rendering it kinetically inert toward Mg +-mediated reduction. Computational and electrochemical analyses on Mg[TPFA] 2 ([TPFA] − = [Al{OC(CF 3) 3 } 4 ] −) support this hypothesis, and showcase a widened electrochemical window as a result of mitigated cathodic decomposition as well as enhanced anodic stability from electron-withdrawing CF 3 groups. Detailed NMR and IR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy further support that the weak coordination to Mg 2+ in solution is important for maintaining the wide electrochemical window of Mg salt.

Dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles (DENs) containing averages of 55, 147, and 225 Pt atoms immobilized on glassy carbon electrodes served as the electroactive surface for the underpotential deposition (UPD) of a Cu monolayer. This results in formation of core@shell (Pt@Cu) DENs. Evidence for this conclusion comes from cyclic voltammetry, which shows that the Pt core DENs catalyze the hydrogen evolution reaction before Cu UPD, but that after Cu UPD this reaction is inhibited. Results obtained by in situ electrochemical X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) confirm this finding.