Low-Potential Synthesis
of “Clean” Au
Nanodendrites and Their High Performance toward Ethanol Oxidation
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Abstract
The shape control of Au nanocrystals is crucial to their
catalytic
applications and optical properties. Well-defined Au nanodendrites
(NDs) have been prepared on a glassy carbon electrode using low-potential
synthesis, assisted by ethylenediamine (EDA). The effects of applied
potential, deposition time, and HAuCl<sub>4</sub> (or EDA) concentrations
on the morphology of the Au deposits are discussed in our work. The
growth mechanism can be explained by a two-staged growth of dendrites:
initial branching and subsequent dendritic growth. The Au NDs exhibits
superior catalytic performance toward ethanol oxidation, in comparison
with the polycrystalline Au nanoparticles. The simple and facile synthetic
technique can be applied to the construction of other metals with
complex hierarchical structures on a large-scale