Premium
Hydrophobic Nanoreactor Soft‐Templating: A Supramolecular Approach to Yolk@Shell Materials
Author(s) -
Guiet Amandine,
Göbel Caren,
Klingan Katharina,
Lublow Michael,
Reier Tobias,
Vainio Ulla,
Kraehnert Ralph,
Schlaad Helmut,
Strasser Peter,
Zaharieva Ivelina,
Dau Holger,
Driess Matthias,
Polte Jörg,
Fischer Anna
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201502388
Subject(s) - nanoreactor , materials science , micelle , nanotechnology , nanomaterial based catalyst , nanoparticle , polystyrene , chemical engineering , oxide , nanostructure , template , organic chemistry , composite material , chemistry , aqueous solution , engineering , metallurgy , polymer
Due to their unique morphology‐related properties, yolk@shell materials are promising materials for catalysis, drug delivery, energy conversion, and storage. Despite their proven potential, large‐scale applications are however limited due to demanding synthesis protocols. Overcoming these limitations, a simple soft‐templated approach for the one‐pot synthesis of yolk@shell nanocomposites and in particular of multicore metal nanoparticle@metal oxide nanostructures (M NP @MO x ) is introduced. The approach here, as demonstrated for Au NP @ITO TR (ITO TR standing for tin‐rich ITO), relies on polystyrene‐ block ‐poly(4‐vinylpyridine) (PS‐ b ‐P4VP) inverse micelles as two compartment nanoreactor templates. While the hydrophilic P4VP core incorporates the hydrophilic metal precursor, the hydrophobic PS corona takes up the hydrophobic metal oxide precursor. As a result, interfacial reactions between the precursors can take place, leading to the formation of yolk@shell structures in solution. Once calcined these micelles yield Au NP @ITO TR nanostructures, composed of multiple 6 nm sized Au NPs strongly anchored onto the inner surface of porous 35 nm sized ITO TR hollow spheres. Although of multicore nature, only limited sintering of the metal nanoparticles is observed at high temperatures (700 °C). In addition, the as‐synthesized yolk@shell structures exhibit high and stable activity toward CO electrooxidation, thus demonstrating the applicability of our approach for the design of functional yolk@shell nanocatalysts.