Reactivity of Gold Nanobelts with Unique {110} Facets

Abstract

Gold nanobelts were synthesized by directional solidification of the Fe-Au eutectoid followed by selective phase dissolution. Cleaning from organic molecules was performed in alkaline solution by PbO(2) deposition/dissolution to avoid surface reconstruction. The electrochemical behaviour of the Au nanobelts was determined by structure-sensitive electrochemical reactions, and the findings confirm the results obtained by selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The underpotential deposition (UPD) of lead under alkaline conditions and cyclic voltammograms (CVs) in sulphuric acid revealed an unusual large amount of (110) domains (>65%). Finally, after cleaning the Au nanobelts showed a higher and stable electrocatalytic behaviour toward methanol oxidation in alkaline media. The possible mechanism and the potential applications of the Au nanobelts are discussed.

Enhancement of the Electrocatalytic Activity of Gold Nanoparticles Towards Methanol Oxidation

“…However, the benefit of gold as electrocatalyst is that no poisoning intermediates are formed [16,17]. Recently, it was found that gold in the form of nano-sized particles exhibits an unusually high electrocatalytic activity [12,13,16,[18][19][20][21][22][23]. Initial results showed that gold could be a promising candidate for some applications, such as electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol and glucose [18,24].…”

“…For example, the synthesis of gold nanoflowers and their applications in methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions was reported [22]. Furthermore, the synthesis of Au nanobelts with either {111} or {110} surfaces and their applications in methanol oxidation was described [13,18,25].…”

“…atomic steps, edges, and kinks, the surface conditions of the catalysts are of vital importance for the catalytic efficiency [7,12,16]. The electrocatalytic activity of the gold nanoparticles can be significantly decreased by adsorbed organic layers [1,11,13]. Thus, much research has been devoted to clean the surface, hence improving the electrocatalytic activity of the Au NPs [12,13,16,19].…”

“…The electrocatalytic activity of the gold nanoparticles can be significantly decreased by adsorbed organic layers [1,11,13]. Thus, much research has been devoted to clean the surface, hence improving the electrocatalytic activity of the Au NPs [12,13,16,19]. There are two common ways to clean metallic nanoparticles.…”

“…Many real and potential applications in devices such as sensors and fuel cells are depending on the electrocatalytic properties of the used particles [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Thus, the investigation of electrocatalytic behavior of nanomaterials has been an important topic, and much research has been devoted to improve their electrocatalytic activities [2,7,[11][12][13]. The majority of works on electrocatalysts for fuel cells are based on Pt or Pt-based materials because of their excellent electrocatalytic properties for many reactions, such as oxygen reduction and alcohol oxidation [2-5, 7, 8, 14].…”