The concept of a core−shell metallic structures, with a few atomic layers of the "shell" metal delineated from the "core" metal with atomic sharpness opens the door to a multitude of surface-driven materials properties that can be tuned. However, in practice, such architectures are difficult to retain due to the entropic cost of a segregated near-surface architecture, and the core and surface atoms inevitably mix through interdiffusion over time. We present here a systematic study of interdiffusion in a Pt on Au core−shell architecture and the role of an interrupting single layer of graphene sandwiched between them. The physical and chemical structure of the (near)surface is probed via mean-free-path tuned X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and electrochemistry (the oxygen reduction reaction, ORR). We find that at operating temperatures above 100 °C, there is potential for interdiffusion to occur between the primary and support metals of the core− shell catalyst system, which can diminish the catalyst activity toward ORR. The introduction of a single-layer graphene, as an interface between the core and shell metal layers, acts as a barrier that prevents unwanted surface alloying between the layered metals. HRTEM imaging shows that fully wetted Pt monolayers can be grown on a graphene template, allowing a high level of surface utilization of the catalyst material. We present how the use of graphene as a barrier to diffusion mitigates the loss of surface catalytic sites, showing much improved retention of Pt monolayer surface at elevated temperatures.

The synthesis techniques of highly luminescent CdSe/ZnS core-shell composite nanocrystals are reported. The color-conversion, incorporating the photoluminescence emission of CdSe/ZnS core-shell nanocrystals in blue λ=350 nm and green λ=520 nm on near UV-InGaN/GaN LED λ=365 nm, was studied. The generated white light resulting from color-mixing of the emitted wavelengths of  the core-shell composite and that of the near UV emission from the LED was analyzed depending upon the chromaticity coordinates. The X-ray diffraction pattern was used to study the CdSe/ZnS core-shell structure and the nanocrystal size formation. The absorption and photoluminescence spectra of the composite core-shell were investigated. The Gaussian fit was applied to the fluorescence spectrum of the CdSe/ZnS core-shell in order to determine the chromaticity coordinates of the output white light emitted on the chromaticity diagram.

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