Popping of graphite oxide: application in preparing metal nanoparticle catalysts.

A popcorn-like transformation of graphite oxide (GO) is reported and used to synthesize metal nanoparticle catalysts. The popping step is unique and essential, not only generating a high-surface-area support but also partially decomposing the metal precursors to form well-separated metal oxide nuclei, which would further evolve into highly dispersed and uniform-sized nanoparticles in the subsequent reduction.