Tailored design of architecturally controlled Pt nanoparticles with huge surface areas toward superior unsupported Pt electrocatalysts.

Herein, we report a very simple and rapid method to synthesize two types of Pt nanoparticles with open porous structures (i.e., Pt nanodendrites and multiarmed Pt nanostars) in high yield. The present synthesis is performed by a simple sonication treatment of an aqueous solution containing K2PtCl4 and a nonionic block copolymer with branched alkyl chains in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) at room temperature. Nanodendrites and multiarmed nanostars with different Pt nanostructures are selectively synthesized by simply controlling the dissolved block copolymer amounts in the reactive system. As-prepared 3D Pt nanodendrites and multiarmed Pt nanostars with well-defined morphologies are highly porous and self-supported structures assembled by staggered nanoarms as building blocks, thereby realizing extremely high surface areas (around 80 m(2) g(-1)). The present synthesis has a remarkable advantage in its simplicity for the synthesis of Pt nanocatalysts, in comparison with other previous approaches. Our Pt nanodendrites and Pt nanostars not only improve the active Pt surface area but also show superior electrochemical performance, which make them promising electrocatalysts for future.