Platinum nanoparticles are usually in the form of a suspension or colloid of nanoparticles of platinum in a fluid, usually water. A colloid is technically defined as a stable dispersion of particles in a fluid medium (liquid or gas).
Spherical platinum nanoparticles can be made with sizes between about 2 and 100 nanometres (nm), depending on reaction conditions. Platinum nanoparticles are suspended in the colloidal solution of brownish-red or black color. Nanoparticles come in wide variety of shapes including spheres, rods, cubes, and tetrahedra.
Platinum nanoparticles are the subject of substantial research, with potential applications in a wide variety of areas. These include catalysis, medicine, and the synthesis of novel materials with unique properties.
Synthesis
Platinum nanoparticles are typically synthesized either by the reduction of platinum ion precursors in solution with a stabilizing or capping agent to form colloidal nanoparticles, or by the impregnation and reduction of platinum ion precursors in a micro-porous support such as alumina.
Some common examples of platinum precursors include potassium hexachloroplatinate (K2PtCl6) or platinous chloride (PtCl2) Different combinations of precursors, such as ruthenium chloride (RuCl3) and chloroplatinic acid (H2PtCl6), have been used to synthesize mixed-metal nanoparticles Some common examples of reducing agents include hydrogen gas (H2), sodium borohydride (NaBH4) and ethylene glycol (C2H6O2), although other alcohols and plant-derived compounds have also been used.
As the platinum metal precursor is reduced to neutral platinum metal (Pt0), the reaction mixture becomes supersaturated with platinum metal and the Pt0 begins to precipitate in the form of nanoscale particles. A capping agent or stabilizing agent such as sodium polyacrylic acid or sodium citrate is often used to stabilize the nanoparticle surfaces, and prevents the aggregation and coalescence of the nanoparticles.
The size of nanoparticles synthesized colloidally may be controlled by changing the platinum precursor, the ratio of capping agent to precursor, and/or the reaction temperature. The size of the nanoparticles can also be controlled with small deviation by using a stepwise seed-mediated growth procedure as outlined by Bigall et al. (2008). The size of nanoparticles synthesized onto a substrate such as alumina depends on various parameters such as the pore size of the support.
Platinum nanoparticles can also be synthesized by decomposing Pt2(dba)3 (dba = dibenzylideneacetone) under a CO or H2 atmosphere, in the presence of a capping agent. The size and shape distributions of the resulting nanoparticles depend on the solvent, the reaction atmosphere, the types of capping agents and their relative concentrations, the specific platinum ion precursor, as well at the temperature of the system and reaction time.
Shape and size control
Ramirez et al. reported the influence of ligand and solvent effects on the size and shape of platinum nanoparticles. Platinum nanoparticle seeds were prepared by the decomposition of Pt2(dba)3 in tetrahydrofuran (THF) under carbon monoxide (CO). These conditions produced Pt nanoparticles with weakly bound THF and CO ligands and an approximate diameter on 1.2 nm. Hexadecylamine (HDA) was added to the purified reaction mixture and allowed to displace the THF and CO ligands over the course of approximately seven days, producing monodispersed spherical crystalline Pt nanoparticles with an average diameter of 2.1 nm. After the seven-day period, an elongation of the Pt nanoparticles occurred. When the same procedure was followed using a stronger capping agent such as triphenyl phosphine or octanethiol, the nanoparticles remained spherical, suggesting that the HDA ligand affects particle shape.
Oleylamine, oleic acid and platinum(II) acetylacetonate (Pt(acac)2) are also used in the synthesis of size/shape controlled platinum nanoparticles. Research showed that alkylamine can coordinate with Pt2+ ion and form tetrakis(amine)platinate precursor and replace the original acac− ligand in Pt(acac)2, and oleic acid can further exchange with acac− and tune the formation kinetics of platinum nanoparticles.
When Pt2(dba)3 was decomposed in THF under hydrogen gas in the presence HDA, the reaction took much longer, and formed nanowires with diameters between 1.5 and 2 nm. Decomposition of Pt2(dba)3 under hydrogen gas in toluene yielded the formation of nanowires with 2–3 nm diameter independent of HDA concentration. The length of these nanowires was found to be inversely proportional to the concentration of HDA present in solution. When these nanowire syntheses were repeated using reduced concentrations of Pt2(dba)3, there was little effect on the size, length or distribution of the nanowires formed.
Platinum nanoparticles of controlled shape and size have also been accessed through varying the ratio of polymer capping agent concentration to precursor concentration. Reductive colloidal syntheses as such have yielded tetrahedral, cubic, irregular-prismatic, icosahedral, and cubo-octahedral nanoparticles, whose dispersity is also dependent on the concentration ratio of capping agent to precursor, and which may be applicable to catalysis. The precise mechanism of shape-controlled colloidal synthesis is not yet known; however, it is known that the relative growth rate of crystal facets within the growing nanostructure determines its final shape. Polyol syntheses of platinum nanoparticles, in which chloroplatinic acid is reduced to PtCl42− and Pt0 by ethylene glycol, have also been a means to shape-controlled fabrication. Addition of varying amounts of sodium nitrate to these reactions was shown to yield tetrahedra and octahedra at high concentration ratios of sodium nitrate to chloroplatinic acid. Spectroscopic studies suggest that nitrate is reduced to nitrite by PtCl42− early in this reaction, and that the nitrite may then coordinate both Pt(II) and Pt(IV), greatly slowing the polyol reduction and altering the growth rates of distinct crystal facets within the nanoparticles, ultimately yielding morphological differentiation.
Green synthesis An ecologically-friendly synthesis of platinum nanoparticles from chloroplatinic acid was achieved through the use of a leaf extract of Diospyros kaki as a reducing agent. Nanoparticles synthesized as such were spherical with an average diameter ranging from 212 nm depending on reaction temperature and concentration of leaf extract used. Spectroscopic analysis suggests that this reaction is not enzyme-mediated and proceeds instead through plant-derived reductive small molecules. Another eco-friendly synthesis from chloroplatinic acid was reported using leaf extract from Ocimum sanctum and tulsi as reducing agents. Spectroscopic analysis suggested that ascorbic acid, gallic acid, various terpenes, and certain amino acids were active in the reduction. Particles synthesized as such were shown through scanning electron microscopy to consist in aggregates with irregular shape. It has been shown that tea extracts with high polyphenol content may be used both as reducing agents and capping agents for platinum nanoparticle synthesis.
Properties The chemical and physical properties of platinum nanoparticles (NP) make them applicable for a wide variety of research applications. Extensive experimentation has been done to create new species of platinum NPs, and study their properties. Platinum NP applications include electronics, optics, catalysts, and enzyme immobilization.
Catalytic properties
Platinum NPs are used as catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), for industrial synthesis of nitric acid, reduction of exhaust gases from vehicles and as catalytic nucleating agents for synthesis of magnetic NPs. NPs can act as catalysts in homogeneous colloidal solution or as gas-phase catalysts while supported on solid state material. The catalytic reactivity of the NP is dependent on the shape, size and morphology of the particle
One type of platinum NPs that have been researched on are colloidal platinum NPs. Monometallic and bimetallic colloids have been used as catalysts in a wide range of organic chemistry, including, oxidation of carbon monoxide in aqueous solutions, hydrogenation of alkenes in organic or biphasic solutions and hydrosilylation of olefins in organic solutions. Colloidal platinum NPs protected by Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) were synthesised and their catalytic properties measured. It was determined that they were more active in solution and inactive when phase separated due to its solubility being inversely proportional to temperature.
Optical properties
Platinum NPs exhibit fascinating optical properties. Being a free electron metal NP like silver and gold, its linear optical response is mainly controlled by the surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Surface plasmon resonance occurs when the electrons in the metal surface are subject to an electromagnetic field that exerts a force on the electrons and cause them to displace from their original positions. The nuclei then exert a restoring force that results in oscillation of the electrons, which increase in strength when frequency of oscillations is in resonance with the incident electromagnetic wave.
The SPR of platinum nanoparticles is found in the ultraviolet range (215 nm), unlike the other noble metal nanoparticles which display SPR in the visible range Experiments were done and the spectra obtained are similar for most platinum particles regardless of size. However, there is an exception. Platinum NPs synthesized via citrate reduction do not have a surface plasmon resonance peak around 215 nm. Through experimentation, the resonance peak only showed slight variations with the change of size and synthetic method (while maintaining the same shape), with the exception of those nanoparticles synthesized by citrate reduction, which did not exhibit and SPR peak in this region..Stepanov, A.L.; Golubev, A.N. and Nikitin, S.I. (2013) Synthesis and Applications of Platinum Nanoparticles: A Review in Nanotechnology Vol. 2: Synthesis and Characterization, pp. 173–199. Studium Press.
Through the control of percent composition of 2–5 nm platinum nanoparticles on SiO2, Zhang et al. modeled distinct absorption peaks attributed to platinum in the visible range, distinct from the conventional SPR absorption. This research attributed these absorption features to the generation and transfer of hot electrons from the platinum nanoparticles to the semiconductive material. The addition of small platinum nanoparticles on semiconductors such as TiO2 increases the photocatalytic oxidation activity under visible light irradiation. These concepts suggest the possible role of platinum nanoparticles in the development of solar energy conversion using metal nanoparticles. By changing the size, shape and environment of metal nanoparticles, their optical properties can be used for electrontic, catalytic, sensing, and photovoltaic applications.
Applications
Fuel cells application
Hydrogen fuel cells Among the precious metals, platinum is the most active toward the hydrogen oxidation reaction that occurs at the anode in hydrogen fuel cells. In order to meet cost reductions of this magnitude, the Pt catalyst loading must be decreased. Two strategies have been investigated for reducing the Pt loading: the binary and ternary Pt-based alloyed nanomaterials and the dispersion of Pt-based nanomaterials onto high surface area substrates.
Methanol fuel cells