Carboxyl-cored dendrimer and toluene-assisted fabrication of uniform platinum nanodendrites at a water/oil interface and their potential application as a catalyst

Uniform platinum nanodendrites have been prepared at a water/oil interface by a facile catalyst-free method at room temperature. This is carried out by introducing NaBH4 into the platinum precursor solution in the presence of the second generation of carboxyl-cored dendrimer ([G-2]-CO2H dendrimer) and toluene to act as a protective agent and a linker, respectively. The average fractal dimension of 1.61 of the obtained platinum nanodendrites is calculated by analysing the transmission electron micrographs using the programs Fractal Dimension Version 1.1 and Fractal Dimension Calculator. Control experiments show that the fabrication of platinum nanodendrites can be operated with a wide parameter window, which undoubtedly raises the degree of control of the synthesis process. The potential application of such a nanostructure as a catalyst is investigated, and the results reveal that they show highly efficient catalytic properties for the typical redox reaction between hexacyanoferrate (III) and thiosulfate ions at 301 K.