Facile synthesis of branched Au nanocrystals with sub-10-nm arms and their applications for ethanol oxidation reaction

Branched Au nanocrystals with sub-10-nm arms are synthesized via a one-pot reduction in aqueous phase. The success of current work relies on the use of octadecyltrimethylammonium chloride as the shape-directing capping agent to facilitate the formation of branched products in high purity. Their overall size could be controlled in the range of 16–60 nm by varying the Au precursor amount or concentration of capping agent, and the diameter of arms is limited to sub-10-nm size range. Interestingly, Au nanocrystals with a unique morphology, sheet-wrapped dendrites, could be obtained when the concentration of a reductant was varied. The current strategy is also validated effective in the fabrication of dendritic products composed of other noble metals or alloys in addition to Au by simply using the alternative metal precursor. As compared to spherical counterparts, the current branched Au nanocrystals exhibited noticeable red-shift in UV-Vis extinction spectrum and enhanced catalytic activities for electrooxidation of ethanol in alkaline media. Graphical abstract