Mechanochemical Synthesis of Free-Standing Platinum Nanosheets and Their Electrocatalytic Properties

Robust, 26 nm thick free-standing platinum nanosheets, an extremely rare morphology for metal nanostructures, are obtained by employing fluid induced shearing force of the order of 1.8 N and differential shear-stress of 0.5 kPa across the diameter of a Te template nanorod undergoing galvanic displacement by Pt4+. Corrugation leads to their large surface area and much improved electrocatalytic properties when compared with conventional Pt catalysts.