hollow – Inorganic Nanoparticles Group

New Paper on High-Index Surface Platinum Hollow Nanocrystals Published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A.

Editor — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 17:58:03 +0000

One of the main focus of the group is the development of synthetic strategies for the production of advanced hollow NCs allowing the precise morphological control of its surface. This aspect, of critical importance for the understanding of the unique properties of the materials at the nanoscale, is also useful in a wide range of applications, such as catalysis, where the development of highly active and low-cost materials represents a landmark for the development of industrial technologies. This time we show how combining solid state chemistry techniques and colloidal synthesis allows us to prepare exotic materials, such as PtAg@Pt single-crystal hollow NCs with high-index planes, at room temperature (green temperature) by controlled corrosion of silver templates, which minimize Pt consumption and maximize surface reactivity. We are further working on the applicability use of these NC-based catalysts. The work, carried out with the collaboration of Prof. Jordi Arbiol from the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), has now been published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A under the title ” Enhanced reactivity of high-index surface platinum hollow nanocrystals“

Spontaneous formation of hollow nanoparticles at room temperature: our recent work published in Nanoscale

Editor — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:09:46 +0000

In a paper recently published in Nanoscale, our group continues the exploration of the Kirkendall effect a room temperature: this time we report on the oxidation of cobalt nanoparticles at the air/water interface. We find that this results in the formation of hollow cobalt oxide shells, followed by decomposition of the shells into much smaller nanoparticles.

The work, carried out together with collaborators at ICMAB led by Prof. Jordi Arbiol, indicates that the presence of water modifies the reactivity on the nanoparticle surface favoring the formation of the hollow structure. The paper also presents detailed characterization, including the magnetic properties of some of the products. Overall, the work contributes to the understanding and control of the chemistry of hollow nanoparticles – a topic of growing interest due to their potential applications.

Varón, M., Ojea-Jimenez, I., Arbiol, J., Balcells, L., Martínez, B., & Puntes, V. F. Spontaneous formation of hollow cobalt oxide nanoparticles by the Kirkendall effect at room temperature at the water–air interface. Nanoscale, 5(6), 2429–2436 (2013).

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/nr/c2nr32657d