Modular construction of size-selected multiple-core Pt–TiO2 nanoclusters for electro-catalysis
Abstract
Size-selected binary platinum–titanium dioxide (Pt–TiO2) clusters have been generated using a magnetron sputtering gas condensation cluster source and imaged using a Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) in High Angle Annular Dark Field (HAADF) mode. The core–shell clusters exhibit a Pt core of preferred size 30 ± 6 atoms (1 nm), embedded in an oxidised Ti shell, independent of the overall cluster size (varied between 2 nm and 5 nm). Smaller clusters, with mass ≤50 000 Daltons, show a single Pt core while larger clusters, ≥55 000 Daltons, feature multiple Pt cores, either isolated or aggregated within the TiO2 shell. These clusters may have applications in solar hydrogen production; preliminary work indicates catalytic active in the hydrogen evolution reaction.
- This article is part of the themed collection: Recent advances in the chemical physics of nanoalloys