Synthesis of Layered Platinum-Based Materials Through Thermal Decomposition of Self-Assembled Metal Carbonyl-Surfactant Phases

The first attempt at using metal carbonyls as precursors for mesostructured materials, reported here, suggests that this new approach to metal carbonyl, metal carbide, and purely metallic mesostructured materials holds promise. The precipitation of platinum carbonyl anions of the type [Pr3(CO6)n]2− (n = 3 to 5) with cetyltrimethylammonium chloride is shown to lead to layered platinum carbonyl phases, which lose CO under thermal conditions to form layered platinum-based phases. Mesostructured metals are important in nanoscale electronic applications and in catalytic processes involving large molecules.