The many angles and edges of the 24-sided platinum nanoparticles shown in this micrograph increase the catalytic activity on their surfaces.
Credit: Xiang Zhang, Georgia Tech

From the Labs

From the Labs: Nanotechnology

  • July 2007
  • By Kevin Bullis

New publications, experiments and breakthroughs in nanotechnology--and what they mean.

   

Better Catalysts
Multifaceted platinum nanoparticles may help explain catalysis and could lead to cheaper fuel cells and alternative fuels

Source: "Synthesis of Tetrahexahedral Platinum Nanocrystals with High-Index Facets and High Electro-Oxidation Activity"
Na Tian et al.
Science 316: 732-735

Results: Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and at Xiamen University in China have made platinum nanoparticles with a new 24-sided shape. The surfaces of the nanoparticles have four times as much catalytic activity as the surfaces of commercial catalysts. This is because of the greater number of unstable atoms at the particles' edges and the odd angles of the shape's many facets.

 

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