Oxidative etching of faceted Pt nanocrystals

Researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have used Hummingbird Scientific’s Liquid Flow TEM platform to selectively etch cubic and icosahedral Pt nanoparticles in aqueous HAuCl4 solution. The results have been published in ACS Nano.

Dissolution due to etching has been the major cause for the degradation of Pt-based electrocatalysts used in low-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. The mechanism of selective surface etching and dissolution kinetics has been poorly understood in faceted nanoparticles in solution. Using Hummingbird’s Liquid Flow TEM holder, the researchers were able to quantify the oxidative etching of cubic and icosahedral Pt nanoparticles in HAuCl4 solution. The results show preferential etching of facetes nanocrystals depending on the locations of atoms on the surface.

Reference: Jianbo Wu, Wenpei Gao, Hong Yang, and Jian-Min Zuo. “Dissolution Kinetics of Oxidative Etching of Cubic and Icosahedral Platinum Nanoparticles Revealed by in Situ Liquid Transmission Electron Microscopy,” ACS Nano (2017). DOI:10.1021/acsnano.6b07541

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