Article Title

Hybrid PdAg alloy-Au nanorods: Controlled growth, optical properties and electrochemical catalysis

Authors

Qiao Zhang, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510640, China
Xia Guo, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Zhenxing Liang, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510640, China
Jianhuang Zeng, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510640, China
Jian Yang, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China Department of Chemistry, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
Shijun Liao, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510640, China

Keywords

nanostructures, hybrid materials, metals, controlled growth, electrochemical catalysis, optical properties

Abstract

Controllable growth of high-quality hybrid nanostructures is highly desirable for the fabrication of hierarchical, complex and multifunctional devices. Here, PdAg alloys have been controllably grown at different locations on gold nanorods, producing dumbbell-like nanostructures with PdAg at the ends of the gold nanorods or branched nanostructures with PdAg grown almost perpendicular to the gold nanorods. The nucleation sites of PdAg alloys on the gold nanorods can be effectively tuned by varying the concentrations of H2PdCl4, AgNO3 and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The dumbbell-like and branched nanostructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), line-scanning energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy. Their electrocatalytic performance was evaluated using ethanol oxidation as a probe reaction. The dumbbell-like nanostructures show a better anti-poisoning performance, but a worse electrochemical activity than the branched ones. The results provide guidelines for the controlled growth of complicated nanostructures for either fundamental studies or potential applications.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0332-8

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Qiao Zhang,Xia Guo,Zhenxing Liang,Jianhuang Zeng,Jian Yang,Shijun Liao, Hybrid PdAg alloy-Au nanorods: Controlled growth, optical properties and electrochemical catalysis. NanoRes.2013, 6(7): 571–580