Unusual Hollow Al₂O₃ Nanofibers with Loofah-Like Skins: Intriguing Catalyst Supports for Thermal Stabilization of Pt Nanocrystals

Recently, hollow nanofibers could be fabricated by coaxis electrospinning method or template method. However, they are limited to applications because of the hardship in actual preparation. In this work, hollow γ- Al 2 O 3 nanofibers with loofah-like skins were first fabricated by using a single spinneret during electrospinning. These intriguing nanofibers were explored as new Pt supports with excellently sinter-resistant performance up to 500 °C, attributed to the unique loofah-like surface of γ- Al 2 O 3 nanofibers and the strong metal–support interactions between Pt and γ-Al 2 O 3 . When applied in the catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol, the Pt/ γ- Al 2 O 3 calcined at 500 °C exhibited 4-times higher reaction rate constant (6.8 s –1 ·mg –1 ) over free Pt nanocrystals.