Electrochemical synthesis and catalytic property of sub-10 nm platinum cubic nanoboxes.

We report an electrochemical synthesis of ultrafine Pt cubic nanoboxes from Pt-on-Ag heteronanostructures. These cubic nanoboxes have an average edge length of about 6 nm and a wall thickness of 1.5 nm. Several reaction parameters including the profile of applied potentials were examined to develop an optimal procedure for controlling the size, shape, and surface morphology of the nanoboxes. A strong shape-dependent catalytic property is observed for Pt cubic nanoboxes, which is 1.5 times more active than hollow spheres in terms of turn over frequency for catalytic oxidation of methanol.