Premium
Observed Dramatically Improved Catalysis of Ag Shell on Au/Ag Core‐shell Nanorods is Due to Silver Impurities Released During Etching Process
Author(s) -
Krejcova Ludmila,
Novotny Filip,
Pumera Martin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
electroanalysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1521-4109
pISSN - 1040-0397
DOI - 10.1002/elan.201800668
Subject(s) - electrocatalyst , bimetallic strip , nanorod , materials science , catalysis , shell (structure) , chemical engineering , nanoparticle , etching (microfabrication) , impurity , metal , nanotechnology , inorganic chemistry , layer (electronics) , chemistry , composite material , electrochemistry , electrode , metallurgy , organic chemistry , engineering
Core/shell bimetallic nanoparticles are highly popular in electrocatalysis; it is argued that the core metal enhances the catalytic properties of the shell. We have investigated the electrocatalytic properties of Au/Ag core‐shell nanorods (Au/Ag NRs) where Ag shell was thinned by aging in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. We observed excellent electrocatalysis toward hydrogen peroxide electroreduction upon decreasing the Ag shell thickness, which would, at first, appear to imply a strong synergistic effect of the Au core with the Ag shell for electrocatalysis. We show, however, that this electrocatalysis is not caused by particular Au/Ag core/shell structures but rather by the presence of residual silver impurities in the form of Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) formed during the preparation of the thin‐layer silver shell/gold core nanorods.