Core-shell gold nanoparticle assembly as novel electrocatalyst of CO oxidation

This paper reports findings of an investigation of the electrocatalytic oxi dation of carbon monoxide (CO) that occurs at nanocrystal gold cores with t hiolate monolayer encapsulation and within a core-shell network assembly. T he core-shell and network combinations allow the manipulation of core size properties and enhance the stability of nanosized catalysts against the pro pensity of aggregation while being catalytically active. Using alkanedithio late-linked thin films assembled from two different gold core sizes (2 and 5 nm), we have demonstrated that the capped nanosites are both electrochemi cally accessible and catalytically active to CO oxidation upon electrochemi cal activation. Cyclic voltammetric data are presented for assessing the el ectrocatalytic properties. The results have important implications for the design and tailoring of nanosized gold catalysts via manipulating core-shel l chemistry.