Preparation of colloidal solutions of thin platinum nanowires

Colloidal solutions of thin platinum nanowires having lengths of 10 to 70 nm and diameters of 1.5-3 nm were prepared by reducing K2PtCl4 with hydrogen in a glycol solution containing K2C2O4 and preformed Pt seeds. TEM, HRTEM, XRD and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy were used to study the structure of the obtained nanowires and the effect of preparation conditions, such as pH value, temperature, preformed Pt nanoseeds and stabilizing agents, on the morphology of the products. The mechanism for forming the thin Pt nanowires in the absence of a 1D structure template was discussed based on the experimental results. Stable colloidal solutions of mercaptan-modified Pt nanowires were prepared for the first time by transferring the prepared thin Pt nanowires into toluene containing octadecylmercaptan.