Facile preparation of small and narrowly distributed platinum nanoparticles in the absence of H2 from Pt(ii) and Pt(0) molecular precursors using trihydrogeno(octyl)silane

Abstract

Platinum nanoparticles are efficiently prepared by the reaction of Pt molecular precursors with trihydrogeno(octyl)silane, which acts both as a reducing agent and as a stabilizer. Various Pt(0) and Pt(II) organometallic precursors can be used to yield narrowly dispersed nanoparticles with a mean Pt core diameter of 1.1 to 1.6 nm. NMR Diffusion Ordered SpectroscopY (DOSY) proved to be a very helpful method to both demonstrate the anchoring of the octylsilane chains to the nanoparticle core and measure its diameter. The very mild reaction conditions pave the way for fast, reliable and safe bench top nanoparticles synthesis.