Axially twinned nanodumbbell with a Pt bar and two Rh@Pt balls designed for high catalytic activity.

A fail-proof synthetic strategy has been developed for a multiply twinned dumbbell-shaped Rh@Pt nanostructure, which exhibits a superior electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation reaction. The unusually high electrocatalytic activity has been attributed to the synergistic effects of crystal twinning and core-shell structure.

Fabrication of hierarchical Rh nanostructures by understanding the growth kinetics of facet-controlled Rh nanocrystals.

By understanding the structural relationship among three shape-controlled Rh nanostructures, namely, {111} nanotetrahedrons, {111} tetrahedral nanoframes, and <111> skeletal nanotetrapods, we could prepare novel hierarchical dendritic Rh nanostructures with <111> Rh arms as linkers between tetrahedral shaped nanocrystals.

High yield synthesis of catalytically active five-fold twinned Pt nanorods from a surfactant-ligated precursor.

The CO-assisted thermal decomposition of a new, surfactant-ligated Pt precursor, [Pt(acac)(NHR)](n) (n = 2, 3; R = C(18)H(37)), gives structurally uniform five-fold twinned Pt nanorods. The Pt nanorods, mostly covered by {100} facets, exhibit much enhanced electrocatalytic activity over {100} faceted Pt nanocubes, indicating the superior catalytic performance due to the presence of the reactive twinning interface.

Fast catalytic and electrocatalytic oxidation of sodium borohydride on palladium nanoparticles and its application to ultrasensitive DNA detection.

We report an ultrasensitive DNA sensor using the rapid enhancement of electrocatalytic activity of DNA-conjugated Pd nanoparticles (NPs); the rapid enhancement results from the fast catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH(4) on Pd NPs and subsequent fast hydrogen sorption into Pd NPs.

Quantitative assessment of nanoparticle single crystallinity: palladium-catalyzed splitting of polycrystalline metal oxide nanoparticles.

Crystal gazing: A simple Pd-catalyzed site-specific nanoetching method was developed to visualize the polycrystalline nature of Fe(3)O(4) (see picture), Fe(2)O(3), MnFe(2)O(4), CoFe(2)O(4), and MnO nanoparticle systems. The technique relies on the very fast etching speed of the grain interface within bi- or polycrystalline nanocrystals.