Electrosynthesis: a smart way for the one-step preparation of metallic and bimetallic nanoparticles

In recent years considerable attention has been drawn to the deposition of metal nanoparticles onto conducting substrates due to its great importance in the fabrication of practical devices such as heterogeneous catalytic systems, electronic sensors and biosensors [1,2]. Several methods have been reported to accomplish this purpose [3-4] among these electrosynthesis has been proved to be very striking because of the simple instrumentation and the capability to readily control the size and morphology of the as-deposited nanostructures through adjusting the electrochemical parameters [5-7]. In this report we present the electrodeposition studies of Au, Pt and bimetallic Au-Pt nanoparticles (AuNPs, PtNPs and Au-PtNPs) on ITO surfaces. The effect of some variables as the presence of additives (i.e. KI or surfactants), the electrodeposition time, the kind of precursor (i.e. Gold(III)-Aminoethyl Imidazolium Aurate Salt, see Scheme I) or the precursors molar ratio (i.e. Au and Pt) employed, on the nanoparticles size and distribution, have been also investigated. Morphological observations have been carried out using CVs (see Fig.1), SEM (see Fig.2), UV-Vis spectroscopy and XRD patterns. Finally, the electrocatalytic activity towards Methanol (MeOH) oxidation in alkaline medium has been studied as dependence of the different morphology. This study could offer a new approach to cost-effective electrodeposition of metal nanoparticles with excellent electrochemical properties.