The active site behaviour of electrochemically synthesised gold nanomaterials.

نویسندگان

  • Blake J Plowman
  • Anthony P O'Mullane
  • Suresh K Bhargava
چکیده

Even though gold is the noblest of metals, a weak chemisorber and is regarded as being quite inert, it demonstrates significant electrocatalytic activity in its nanostructured form. It is demonstrated here that nanostructured and even evaporated thin films of gold are covered with active sites which are responsible for such activity. The identification of these sites is demonstrated with conventional electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry as well as a large amplitude Fourier transformed alternating current (FT-ac) method under acidic and alkaline conditions. The latter technique is beneficial in determining if an electrode process is either Faradaic or capacitive in nature. The observed behaviour is analogous to that observed for activated gold electrodes whose surfaces have been severely disrupted by cathodic polarisation in the hydrogen evolution region. It is shown that significant electrochemical oxidation responses occur at discrete potential values well below that for the formation of the compact monolayer oxide of bulk gold and are attributed to the facile oxidation of surface active sites. Several electrocatalytic reactions are explored in which the onset potential is determined by the presence of such sites on the surface. Significantly, the facile oxidation of active sites is used to drive the electroless deposition of metals such as platinum, palladium and silver from their aqueous salts on the surface of gold nanostructures. The resultant surface decoration of gold with secondary metal nanoparticles not only indicates regions on the surface which are rich in active sites but also provides a method to form interesting bimetallic surfaces.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Highly Sensitive Amperometric Sensor Based on Gold Nanoparticles Polyaniline Electrochemically Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite for Detection of Nitric Oxide

A sensitive electrochemical sensor was fabricated for selective detection of nitric oxide (NO) based on electrochemically reduced graphene (ErGO)-polyaniline (PANI)-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) nanocomposite. It was coated on a gold (Au) electrode through stepwise electrodeposition to form AuNPs-PANI-ErGO/Au electrode. The AuNPs-PANI-rGO nanocomposite was characterized by Field Emission Scanning ...

متن کامل

Capacitance Properties of Electrochemically Synthesised Polybithiophene-Graphene Exfoliated Composite Films

The graphene (GR) has attracted intensive interest due to its two-dimensional and unique physical properties. In the present study, the graphene sheets were synthesized by electrochemical exfoliation of graphite in sulfuric acid solution. The polybithiophene-graphene (PbTh-GR) composite films deposited onto indium tin oxide substrate (ITO/PbTh-GR) have been prepared by the incorporation of ...

متن کامل

Activation Strategies for Enhancement the Catalytic Activity of Gold Nanocatalysts

Recent advances in nanoscience have led to the development of numerous methodologiesfor controlled synthesis of mono dispersed nanoparticles and/or nanoclusters via surface stabilization by organic capping ligands. The application of these nanoparticles in catalysis and other fields often requires the removal of organic ligands. It is known that the removal of organic capping agents or or...

متن کامل

Positively charged gold nanoparticles synthesized by electrochemically active biofilm--a biogenic approach.

Positively charged gold nanoparticles [(+) AuNPs] of 5-20 nm were synthesized by using electrochemically active biofilm (EAB) formed on a stainless steel mesh, within 30 minutes, in aqueous solution containing HAuCl4 as a precursor and sodium acetate as an electron donor. Electrochemically active bacteria present on biofilm oxidize the sodium acetate by producing electrons. Simultaneously, stai...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Faraday discussions

دوره 152  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2011