Synthesis of Platinum Nanowire Networks Using a Soft Template

Abstract

Platinum nanowire networks have been synthesized by chemical reduction of a platinum complex using sodium borohydride in the presence of a soft template formed by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in a two-phase water-chloroform system. The interconnected polycrystalline nanowires possess the highest surface area (53 +/- 1 m2/g) and electroactive surface area (32.4 +/- 3.6 m2/g) reported for unsupported platinum nanomaterials; the high surface area results from the small average diameter of the nanowires (2.2 nm) and the 2-10 nm pores determined by nitrogen adsorption measurements. Synthetic control over the network was achieved simply by varying the stirring rate and reagent concentrations, in some cases leading to other types of nanostructures including wormlike platinum nanoparticles. Similarly, substitution of a palladium complex for platinum gives palladium nanowire networks. A mechanism of formation of the metal nanowire networks is proposed based on confined metal growth within a soft template consisting of a network of swollen inverse wormlike micelles.

Enhanced catalytic and SERS activities of CTAB stabilized interconnected osmium nanoclusters

“…As a result, the growth of the Os particles takes place in all possible directions and generates spherical particles as shown in Scheme 1. When the surfactant concentration is moderately high (Z10 À4 M), CTAB itself can form a worm-like or rod-like micellar template, as reported by others 45,46 and the crystalline particles can grow on that specific template and generates a chain-like morphology. For the formation of wire-like or rod-like gold NPs were synthesized earlier utilizing a similar concept in the CTAB surfactant media.…”

Ultrathin platinum nanowires grown on single-layered nickel hydroxide with high hydrogen evolution activity

“…Unlike previous reports involving utilization of Pt electrodes 8,[19][20][21][22] , the selection of single-layered 2D Ni(OH) 2 (SL-Ni(OH) 2 ) nanosheets as the substrates is based on cost considerations 28,29 , as SL-Ni(OH) 2 sheets might be cheaply acquired via exfoliation of lamellar a-Ni(OH) 2 (refs 30-33). Furthermore, compared with commonly used zero-dimensional (0D) Pt nanoparticles (NPs), 1D ultrathin Pt NWs of high aspect ratios, few lattice boundaries and smooth crystal planes offer the opportunity for improvement of the catalytic activity [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] . Meanwhile, a large contact area between Pt NWs and the Ni(OH) 2 substrates can effectively alleviate possible migration and aggregation of Pt NWs and thus benefit enhancement of the catalytic stability 40 .…”

Spherulitic copper–copper oxide nanostructure-based highly sensitive nonenzymatic glucose sensor

“…The spherulitic Cu-CuO nanostructures were prepared by a modified protocol as developed by Song et al 21 Toluene and water were used as the medium here. Typically, 10 mL of a 20 mM solution of copper acetate aged for 1 day was mixed …”

“…The high resistance of the toluenein-water microemulsion is in agreement with previous findings for spherical inverse micelle formation. 21 In these vesicles, the metal ion preferentially resides in the interior pool of water, forming Cu 2+ -Ac -interactions with the ionic head group of CTAB. After, the addition of the reducing agent, there is a reduction of Cu 2+ in the interior, and the individual particles may coalesce to form larger spherical particles.…”

“…The soft template-based synthetic technique generates structures with well-defined features and better size control beneficial for the fabrication of high-performance microscale devices. 21 Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects millions of people worldwide.…”