Morphological Stability and Catalytic Performance of Supported and Unsupported Dendritic Gold Nanowire Catalysts

Abstract

Shape-controlled noble metal nanocrystals, such as nanoflowers and nanowires, are very attractive as nanocatalysts with excellent catalytic performance. Therefore, it is important to examine and improve the morphological stability and catalytic performance of shape-controlled nanocrystals. This study showed that dendritic Au nanowires have a high catalytic activity compared with spherical Au nanoparticles, although the catalytic activity of the dendritic Au nanowires decreased after standing in aqueous solution for 16 days due to changes in their morphology. We prepared alumina-supported dendritic Au nanowire powder by a seed growth method using supported Au nanoparticles as seed materials. The catalytic activity and morphology of the dried, supported dendritic Au nanowires did not change after standing for 16 days in air.[a] Dr.