Protection of Platinum-Based Micromotors from Thiol Toxicity by Using Manganese Oxide

Tam Do Minh; Muhammad Safdar; Janne Jänis

doi:10.1002/chem.201700788

Protection of Platinum-Based Micromotors from Thiol Toxicity by Using Manganese Oxide

Chemistry. 2017 Jun 16;23(34):8134-8136. doi: 10.1002/chem.201700788. Epub 2017 Mar 27.

Authors

Tam Do Minh¹, Muhammad Safdar¹, Janne Jänis¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland.

PMID: 28295763
DOI: 10.1002/chem.201700788

Abstract

Platinum-based micromotors have shown many exciting applications when functionalized using gold-thiol chemistry. However, thiols are known to bind to the Pt surface, which can lead to serious deactivation of the catalyst. In this paper, it is demonstrated that MnO₂ can be used to protect Pt-based micromotors prior to the thiol treatment, thus fully avoiding the catalyst poisoning. This approach will greatly facilitate the use of the functionalized Pt micromotors for which the thiol toxicity has been a limiting factor.

Keywords: graphene oxide; manganese oxide; micromotors; nanomotors; thiols.