Hard-templating synthesis of macroporous platinum microballs (MPtM)

Platinum (Pt) is widely applied for electrochemical catalysis, thus creating porosity in Pt-based materials would enhance their catalytic efficacy. This study demonstrates a new route to synthesize a Pt material with macropores and spherical morphology by the combination of evaporation induced self-assembly of a hard template (i.e., silica nanoparticles) and infiltration/reduction of Pt species in micro-emulsion systems. The synthesized macroporous Pt microballs (denoted as MPtM) are characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and it is found that MPtM exhibits uniform macropores (diameter of 300 nm) and Pt crystalline framework, which would be potential for enhanced catalytic reactions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.