Influence of morphology in the catalytic activity of bioconjugated platinum nanostructures

• Published in: Journal of nanoparticle research : an interdisciplinary forum for nanoscale science and technology Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 1723 - 1735
• Main Authors: Guerra, Javier, Burt, Justin L., Ferrer, Domingo A., Mejía, Sergio, José-Yacamán, Miguel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-04-2011; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Inorganic Chemistry; Lasers; Materials Science; Mathematical models; Morphology; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Nanorods; Nanostructure; Nanotechnology; Optical Devices; Optics; Photonics; Physical Chemistry; Platinum; Research Paper; BSA; Protein stabilizing agent; Catalysis; Nanoparticle; Platinum; TEM
• ISSN: 1388-0764; 1572-896X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11051-010-9927-0

Platinum nanoparticles stabilized by a protein, bovine serum albumin, have been synthesized successfully with two different morphologies such as cuboctahedra and nanorods. They have been characterized by the use of different techniques such as XPS, PCS, TEM, and STEM-HAADF. These nanoparticles have been applied as catalysts for the hydrogenation of allyl alcohol in an aqueous solution. A key finding of this article is the superior catalytic activity of the nanorods compared to the cuboctahedral particles. This difference in the catalytic activity was justified because of the variation in the amount of protein to stabilize the nanorods. A model for the nanorods and equations that describe the proportion of atoms in the different sites of the particle (face, vertex, edge, or interior) is used to calculate the percentage of atoms that are located on the nanorod surface. The stability of these particles as catalysts was also studied. The results showed that Pt nanorods and Pt cuboctahedra particles were degraded after 24 h of reaction.