Platinum-Coated Porous Gold Nanorods in Methanol Electrooxidation: Dependence of Catalytic Activity on Ligament Size

Here we demonstrate that, in the dealloying process of Au-Ag nanorods, temperature is the key parameter for producing porous Au nanorods with tunable ligament sizes. The vertically aligned Au-Ag alloy nanorods were first synthesized by the electrochemical co-deposition of Au and Ag onto anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane templates. Porous Au nanorods were then obtained by selectively etching Ag away from the precursor Au-Ag alloy nanorods. Control of the ligament size was achieved by controlling the dealloying temperature. Pt deposited on the porous Au nanorods with smaller ligaments exhibited a higher catalytic activity during methanol electrooxidation than those deposited on nanorods with larger ligaments produced by dealloying at higher temperatures. The strong dependence of the catalytic activity on the ligament size of porous Au is principally due to different amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) generated during methanol electrooxidation. Less CO was generated as the ligament size decreased. This finding is of importance for developing highly efficient cathode materials for carrying out methanol electrooxidation in practical applications in which porous Au with a large surface area is used as a supporting substrate.