Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
High-index surfaces of a face-centered cubic metal (e. g. , Pd, Pt) have a high density of low-coordinated surface atoms and therefore possess enhanced catalysis activity in comparison with low-index faces. However, because of their high surface energy, the challenge of chemically preparing metal nanocrystals having high-index facets remains. We demonstrate in this work that introducing amines as the surface controller allows concave Pt nanocrystals having 411 high-index facets to be prepared through a facile wet-chemical route. The as-prepared Pt nanocrystals display a unique octapod morphology with 411 facets. The presence of high-index 411 exposed facets endows the concave Pt nanocrystals with excellent electrocatalytic activity in the oxidation of both formic acid and ethanol.
Huang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.