Dendritic Pt nanospheres of 20 nm diameter are synthesized by using a highly concentrated surfactant assembly within the large-sized cage-type mesopores of mesoporous silica (LP-FDU-12). After diluting the surfactant solution with ethanol, the lower viscosity leads to an improved penetration inside the mesopores. After Pt deposition followed by template removal, the arrangement of the Pt nanospheres is a replication from that of the mesopores in the original LP-FDU-12 template. Although it is well known that ordered LLCs can form on flat substrates, the confined space inside the mesopores hinders surfactant self-organization. Therefore, the Pt nanospheres possess a dendritic porous structure over the entire area. The distortion observed in some nanospheres is attributed to the close proximity existing between neighboring cage-type mesopores. This new type of nanoporous metal with a hierarchical architecture holds potential to enhance substance diffusivity/accessibility for further improvement of catalytic activity.
Keywords: hard templates; mesoporous metals; nanoparticles; platinum; soft templates.
© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.