Au@Pt nanocolloids with nanostructured dendritic Pt shells are successfully synthesized by chemically reducing both H 2 PtCl 6 and HAuCl 4 species in the presence of a low-concentration surfactant solution. By applying an ultrasonic treatment, the particle size of the Au@Pt nanocolloids is dramatically decreased and their size distribution becomes very narrow. The difference in reduction potentials of the two soluble metal salts (Au(III) and Pt(IV) species) plays a key role in the one-step synthesis of the core-shell structure. Because of the different reduction potentials, the reduction of Au ions preferentially occurs over a short time to form the Au seeds. It is followed by overgrowth of Pt nanodendritic nanowires on the Au seeds, which is confirmed by ultraviolet-visible light absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Interestingly, the Pt shell thicknesses on Au cores can be easily tuned by controlling the Pt/Au molar ratios in the starting precursor solutions. Through the optimization of the Pt shell thicknesses, the Au@Pt nanocolloids can exhibit enhanced activity as an electrocatalyst for a methanol oxidation reaction, which will be important to improve the utilization efficiency of Pt catalysts in the future.

The field of mesoporous metal nanoarchitectonics offers several advantages which cannot be found elsewhere. These materials have been showcasing impressive enhancements of their electrochemical properties for further implementation, compared to their micro- and macroporous counterparts. Since the last few decades, various methods have been developed to achieve narrow pore size distribution with a tunable porosity and particle morphology. While hard templates offer a reliable and intuitive approach to synthesize mesoporous metals, the complexity of the technique and the use of harmful chemicals pushed several research groups to focus in other directions. For example, soft templates (e.g., lyotropic crystals, micelles assemblies) and solution phase methods (requiring to control reduction reactions) offer more and more possibilities in terms of available compositions and morphologies. Indeed, various metal (Pt, Pd, Au, Ru, etc.) can now be synthesized as dendritic, core@shell, hollow or polyhedral nanoparticles, with single- or multicomponents, alloyed or not, with unprecedented electrochemical activity.

Colloidal Pd@Pt nanoparticles with uniform mesopores can be synthesized in one step by a facile solution-phase method involving slow reduction of metal species in strong acidic media. In this system, F127 micelles can directly act as a template to form the mesopores in the product, and the greater reducibility of the Pd species leads to the desired core-shell Pd@Pt nanocolloids.

A new class of hollow mesoporous Pt-Ru and Pt particles with uniform size, named 'mesoporous metallic cells', are synthesized through a dual-templating approach using colloidal silica particles and non-ionic surfactants. To realize the full potential of mesoporous metals as electrocatalysts, the shell thicknesses, compositions, and hollow cavity sizes are precisely controlled.

Here we report a facile and efficient method to prepare Pt spheres with hollow interior and nanosponge shell with high surface area. Such a unique Pt nanostructure can effectively improve the electrocatalytic performance of Pt catalysts by facilitating the access of electroactive species to the full-extent Pt surface.

We report block copolymer assisted synthesis of a Au metal core coated with a nanodendritic Pt shell (Au@Pt). Herein, a rapid, one-step and efficient wet-chemical route is proposed to straightforwardly synthesize Au@Pt with high yield (approximately 100%), which was mediated by Pluronic F127 block copolymer from the reduction of Pt and Au complexes by ascorbic acid (AA).

Into new spheres: We report a facile, one‐step, and low‐cost method for the synthesis of nanoporous Pt–Ru spheres with a high surface area, in which a commercially available block copolymer is used. The obtained unique dendritic nanoarchitecture, with an open nanoporous structure, is favorable for providing an unblocked transportation of guest species such as methanol molecules.

A new type of platinum nanowire with a bumpy surface "Pt nanoworm" is electrochemically synthesized in mesochannels of mesoporous silica films with the assistance of a nonionic surfactant (C(16)EO(8)).