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Facile synthesis and electrochemical properties of octahedral gold nanocrystals

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Abstract

High-yield octahedral gold nanocrystals of ~45 nm in size have been facilely synthesized by one-pot reduction of HAuCl4 using formic acid in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) aqueous solution. The results showed that CTAB can promote the formation of single-crystalline nucleation and preferentially adsorb on the (111) planes of gold nanocrystals, resulting in the formation of octahedral gold nanocrystals. Formic acid acted as not only a mild reducing agent, but also could promote the formation of (111) facet. The octahedral gold nanocrystals exhibited similar cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves to single-crystal Au (111) electrode and excellent electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation. This synthetic strategy may open new route for facile synthesis of shape-controlled metal nanoparticles.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20605020 and No. 20875085), the Chinese Academy of Science (KJCX2-YW-H11), and the Foundation of Distinguished Young Scholars of Jilin Province (No. 20060112).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, 130022, People’s Republic of China

    Dawei Wang, Jianshe Huang, Yang Liu, Xinyi Han & Tianyan You

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  1. Dawei Wang
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  2. Jianshe Huang
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  3. Yang Liu
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  4. Xinyi Han
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  5. Tianyan You
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Correspondence to Tianyan You.

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Wang, D., Huang, J., Liu, Y. et al. Facile synthesis and electrochemical properties of octahedral gold nanocrystals. J Nanopart Res 13, 157–163 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-010-0014-3

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