One-Pot Synthesis of Pt Nanocubes and Nanopods via Burst Nucleation and Controlled Secondary Growth

We report a one-pot solution-phase synthesis of Pt nanocubes and nanopods by adjusting the reaction time between 1 and 15 min. The nanocubes were synthesized in 1 min by controlled burst nucleation of Pt in the presence of low boiling point solvents hexane and acetone, while nanopods were obtained in 15 min via the secondary growth of polyhedral particles on the vertices of the existing Pt nanocubes in the presence of N -methylpyrrolidone. The Pt nanostructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and cyclic voltammetry. The nanocubes are dominated by (100) facets while the nanopods have more (111) character. The burst nucleation and secondary growth mediated by hexane/acetone and N -methylpyrrolidone may lead to new, or more easily synthesized, morphologies of Pt and other transition metal nanostructures.