Tunable hierarchical macro/mesoporous gold microwires fabricated by dual-templating and dealloying processes

Tailor-made highly ordered macro/mesoporous hierarchical metal architectures have been created by combining sphere lithography, membrane template electrodeposition and alloy-etching processes. The new double-template preparation route involves the electrodeposition of Au/Ag alloy within the interstitial (void) spaces of polystyrene (PS) microspheres which are closely packed within the micropores of a polycarbonate membrane (PC), followed by dealloying of the Ag component and dissolution of the microsphere and membrane templates. The net results of combining such sphere lithography and silver etching is the creation of highly regular three-dimensional macro/mesoporous gold architecture with well-controlled sizes and shapes. The morphology and porosity of the new hierarchical porous structures can be tailored by controlling the preparation conditions, such as the composition of the metal mixture plating solution, the size of the microspheres template, or the dealloying time. Such tunable macro/mesoporous hierarchical structures offer control of the electrochemical reactivity and of the fuel mass transport, as illustrated for the enhanced oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen-peroxide detection. The new double templated electrodeposition method provides an attractive route for preparing highly controllable multiscale porous materials and diverse morphologies based on different materials and hence holds considerable promise for designing electrocatalytic or bioelectrocatalytic surfaces for a variety sensing and energy applications.