Facile synthesis of platinum nanofiber/nanotube junction structures at room temperature

An experiment was conducted to demonstrate that platinum nanofiber/nanotube junction structures could be synthesized in large quantities by directly mixing silver nanowires and platinum salt aqueous solution at room temperature. The reaction solutions were quenched at various time intervals to address the mechanism related to crystal growth and shape formation. The exchanged reaction was initiated first from all of the five edges of a Ag nanowire through a pitting process. As the reaction proceeded, the Pt nanoparticle coating on the surface of Ag nanowires gradually increased because the edges of the nanowires have been gradually etched. The nanofibers were loosely attached to the surface pores of platinum nanotubes, so it was possible to release them by sonication without breaking the platinum nanotubes. The SEM images show that large-scale platinum nanofibers with uniform diameters were obtained over the entire sample surface.