Spontaneous Pt Deposition on Defective Surfaces of In2O3 Nanocrystals Confined within Cavities of Hollow Silica Nanoshells: Pt Catalyst-Modified ITO Electrode with Enhanced ECL Performance

Although the deposition of metallic domains on a preformed semiconductor nanocrystal provides an effective pathway to access diverse hybrid nanocrystals with synergistic In2O3 metal/semiconductor heterojunction interface, those reactions that take place on the surface of semiconductor nanoscrystals have not been investigated thoroughly, because of the impediments caused by the surface-capping organic surfactants. By exploiting the interfacial reactions occurring between the solution and nanoparticles confined with the cavities of hollow nanoparticles, we propose a novel nanospace-confined strategy for assessing the innate reactivity of surfaces of inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles. This strategy was adopted to investigate the newly discovered process of spontaneous Pt deposition on In2O3 nanocrystals. Through an in-depth examination involving varying key reaction parameters, the Pt deposition process was identified to be templated by the defective In2O3 surface via a unique redox process involving the oxygen vacancies in the In2O3 lattice, whose density can be controlled by high-temperature annealing. The product of the Pt-deposition reaction inside the hollow silica nanoparticle, bearing In2O3-supported Pt catalysts inside the cavity protected by a porous silica shell, was proved to be an effective nanoreactor system which selectively and sustainably catalyzed the reduction reaction of small-sized aromatic nitro-compounds. Moreover, the surfactant-free and electroless Pt deposition protocol, which was devised based on the surface chemistry of the In2O3 nanoparticles, was successfully employed to fabricate Pt-catalyst-modified ITO electrodes.with enhanced electrogenerated chemiluminescece (ECL) performance.