Decoration of the interior surface of hollow spherical silica colloids with Pt nanoparticles

This paper describes the generation of Pt nanoparticles inside hollow silica colloids. Solvent etching of a-Se core in a-Se@Pt@silica double-shelled colloids transformed the thin Pt layer into a number of Pt nanoparticles, decorating the interior surface of hollow silica colloids. The release rate of a-Se was directly related to the formation of Pt nanoparticles. Fast dissolution of the core in solvents such as carbon disulfide (CS2) and hydrazine (N2H4) Produced Pt nanoparticles with diameters less than 15 nm, while slow release of a-Se in alcohols or in a mixture Of CS2 and water did not make any change in the Pt thin layer. At elevated temperatures (65 degrees C) in alcohols, the nanoparticles were aggregated and rearranged into large nanoparticles. The nanoparticles obtained in these processes were characterized single crystallites with HR-TEM analysis and electron diffraction patterns.