Study of Novel AuCu-Pt Trimetallic Multiply Twinned Nanoparticles with High Index Surfaces

Abstract

The synthesis of noble metals nanoparticles with controlled atomic distributions have attracted significant interest due to their size-tunable properties depending up on the variation of composition and structure. Recently, various researchers have been focused on the fabrication of multimetallic nanoparticle catalysts due to their tunable properties implemented in diverse potential applications. The addition of a third metal in to the nanoparticle catalyst is expected to produce a combination of effects such as modification of the electronic structure, change in the d-band center, reduction of the lattice distance and enhances the overall electronic charge shift. The control morphology of the nanostructures can provide a great opportunity to stimulate their possible applications such as catalytic, electronic, sensing, and optical properties and to enhance their reactivity, selectivity and stability. [1-3] AuCu-Pt trimetallic nanocrystals with multiply twinned structures, possessing the penta-twinned morphology with a high high-index surfaces of Pt atoms on the (111) surfaces are expected to be the most active catalysts for their many applications in fuel cells.