Shape selection through epitaxy of supported platinum nanocrystals

Supported nanocrystals of original shapes are highly desirable for the development of optimized catalysts; however, conventional methods for the preparation of supported catalysts do not allow shape control. In this work, we have synthesized concave platinum nanocubes exposing {110} crystallographic facets at 20 °C. In the presence of a crystallographically oriented Pt(111) support in the reaction medium, the concave nanocubes grow epitaxially on the support, producing macroscopic nanostructured surfaces. Higher reaction temperature produces a mixture of different nanostructures in solution; however, only the nanostructures growing along the 111 direction are obtained on the Pt(111) support. Therefore, the oriented surface acts as a template for a selective immobilization of specific nanostructures out of a mixture, which can be regarded as an "epitaxial resolution" of an inhomogeneous mixture of nanocrystals. Thus, a judicious choice of the support crystallographic orientation may allow the isolation of original nanostructures that cannot be obtained in a pure form.