Formation of PdPt Alloy Nanodots on Gold Nanorods: Tuning Oxidase-like Activities via Composition

The island growth mode of Pt was employed to guide the forma-tion of PdPt alloy nanodots on gold nanorods (Au@PdPt NRs). Well-defined alloy. nanodots, with tunable Pd/Pt ratios from 0.2 to 5, distribute homogeneously on the surface of the Au NR Formation of nanodots shell leads to the red shift and broadening of the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) band of the Au NRs. The Au@PdPt alloy NRs exhibit catalytic activity toward oxidation,: of often used chromogenic substrates by dissolved oxygen under mild conditions, suggesting a new type of oxidase mimics Composition dependence catalytic activity is observed for the oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) and 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and for the reduction of p-nitrophenol. For AA and TMB, catalytic activity enhances quickly at lower Pd/Pt ratios and tends to saturate at higher Pd/Pt ratios. For p-nitrophenol reduction, catalytic activity shows a nice linear relationship with Pd/Pt ratio owing to much higher catalytic activity of Pd. In Conclusion, proper alloying of Pd and Pt presents' an effective route to tailor the catalytic activity. Interesting, alloy nanodots can also catalyze the oxidation of Fe (H) to Fe (III) by dissolved oxygen. Thus, based on the competitive oxidation of TMB and Fe (II), selective detection of the latter can be achieved.