A Salt-Templated Synthesis Method for Porous Platinum-based Macrobeams and Macrotubes

This protocol offers a simple, relatively fast method for synthesizing high surface area, high aspect ratio platinum in platinum alloys macrobeams and macrotubes with a square cross-section. The salts and plating method allows control of the template metal ion ratio and resulting mass composition, and of the macrobeam and macrotube nano structures. Macrobeam and macrotube pressed films may address the need for integral three-dimensional electrodes for catalysis and sensing applications.

The ability of Magna salt derivatives to be chemically reduced to form macrobeams and macrotubes, suggest that the salt templating synthesis method may be applied to a wider range of metal salts. To prepare Magnus salts with a one to zero to one platinum two positive to platinum two negative ratio, add 0.5 milliliters of 100 millimolar potassium tetrachloroplatinate into a microfuge tube, and forcefully pipette 0.5 milliliters of 100 millimolar tetraammineplatinum(II)chloride hydrate in water into the tube. The resulting one milliliter volume salt needle template solutions will exhibit an opaque like green color.