N-methylimidazole-assisted electrodeposition of Au porous textile-like sheet arrays and its application to electrocatalysis

Au porous textile-like sheet arrays (AuPTSAs) have been facilely prepared on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by one-step electrodeposition, which are performed at -0.4V for 600s in the electrolysis solution containing 10mM HAuCl4, 1.25 M N-methylimdazole and 0.5 M H2SO4. N-methylimdazole plays an important role in the formation of the gold nanostructures. This approach is simple and facile, whereas no additional issues such as seeds, templates, and surfactants are required. Thus prepared AuPTSAs are perpendicular to the electrode surface and growing in the (1 1 1) directions and their growth mechanism is discussed in some detail. The AuPTSAs show enhanced electrocatalytic activity with better stability toward methanol oxidation in alkaline media, compared with those of polycrystalline Au nanoparticles. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.