Preparation of platinum and palladium nanotubes using MPTMS-functionalized silica spheroids as templates

Platinum and palladium nanotubes were prepared by the adsorption of metal nanoparticles onto functionalized silica templates. The silanizing agent 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane was reacted with the surface of the silica templates to present thiol-terminal groups. Dissolution of the silica template using 10 M HF solution enabled the formation of self-organized metallic platinum and palladium nanotubes. When the temperature of the metal reduction process was increased from 4 to 80 °C, this method was more effective than the metal reduction conducted at room temperature. The platinum and palladium nanotubes were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).