Electro-catalytically active Au@Pt nanoparticles for hydrogen evolution reaction: an insight into a tryptophan mediated supramolecular interface towards a universal core-shell synthesis approach

摘要

We report an eco-friendly, one-pot, room-temperature method for the rapid synthesis of electrocatalytically active Au@Pt (50 nm) bimetallic nanoparticles via a tryptophan (Trp) mediated supramolecular interface in an aqueous environment. Our results demonstrate a simple universal approach for high shell-metal loading where a pre-stabilized tryptophan polymerized-Au core serves as a template to facilitate subsequent deposition of Pt. We observed that the amine-stabilized poly-Trp bi-layer has an enhancing effect on the electrocatalytic potential of Au@Pt NPs by the virtue of an amine stabilized interface, thereby enhancing the HER activity over glassy carbon electrodes. Several characterization techniques were used to confirm the inherent core-shell morphology of the resulting Au@Pt NPs. This Trp mediated facile green synthesis strategy has the potential to synthesize an array of Au-core containing bimetallic nanoparticles with enhanced catalytic activity and stable structure integration.