Thermocatalytic Activity of Gold Truncated Nanopyramids on Strontium Titanate Nanocube

Abstract

Gold truncated nanopyramids smaller than 10 nm with clean surfaces were formed on SrTiO₃ naocubes (Au TNPy//SrTiO₃ NCs, // denotes heteroepitaxial junction) by the deposition precipitation method without surface modifier, while the shape of Au nanoparticles (NPs) on irregular shaped SrTiO₃ NPs was hemisphere-like (Au HS/SrTiO₃ NPs). As a probe reaction, the oxidation of o-phenylenediamine (OPD) to 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP) by H₂O₂ was carried out with the catalysts in the dark at 25°C. Au TNPy//SrTiO₃ NCs exhibit significantly higher catalytic activity for the oxidation reaction than Au HS/SrTiO₃ NPs. Kinetic analyses indicated that H₂O₂ can be more effectively activated to be utilized for the OPD oxidation in the former system than the latter system.