Generalized preparation of Au NP @ Ni(OH)2 yolk-shell NPs and their enhanced catalytic activity

Ren Cai, Haiyan Jin, Dan Yang, Keng Te Lin, Kitying Chan, Jianke Sun, Zhuo Chen, Xiaobing Zhang, Weihong Tan

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Yolk-shell nanostructures have attracted considerable attention because of their unique properties and promising applications. Yet, synthesis of well-defined yolk-shell structures with controllable composition remains a major challenge. Here, we report a general method to fabricate Au NP @ Ni(OH)2 yolk-shell NPs. Au cores with various diameters and shapes can be successfully encapsulated into the Ni(OH)2 shells by a similar approach. When the diameter of the core Au NPs changed from ~15 to ~90 nm, the size of the yolk-shell NPs accordingly grew from ~110 to ~380 nm, however, the shell thickness of the final yolk-shell NPs is in the narrow range of 18–20 nm. The synergistic contribution from both Au and Ni(OH)2 has endowed the yolk-shell heterostructure with enhanced catalytic activity. As shown in the oxygen-evolution reactions (OER) tests, the OER activity of Au NP @ Ni(OH)2 yolk-shell NPs is 8.7 and 86-fold higher than that of hollow Ni(OH)2 NPs alone and Au NP @C (5%) (Au NPs (5%) mixed with Carbon Black), respectively. In general, our method provides a simple and novel strategy towards the fabrication of yolk-shell structures with superior catalytic activity for OER.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104542
JournalNano Energy
Volume71
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Au NPs
  • General approach
  • Hollow
  • Oxygen evolution
  • Yolk-shelled structure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • General Materials Science
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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