Metallic nanoparticles as advanced electrocatalysts

Substantial research progress has been made in the past 20 years in the controlled synthesis of metallic nanoparticles. To date, a variety of high-quality particles with diverse shapes and sizes can be obtained via wet chemistry approach. The unique structural and functional features of these metallic nanoparticles are being utilized for the development of advanced electrochemical catalysts for energy and environmental applications. In this review, we mainly focus on the size- and shape-dependent electrocatalytic properties of gold and platinum nanoparticles. In the first part, we summarize thesynthetic methods of the high-quality nanoparticles; in the second part, we describe various strategies of nanoparticle immobilization on electrode surfaces, including physical, chemical and electrochemical routes; in the third part, we cover the current research activities in electrocatalysis of nanoparticle-modified electrode, such as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), methanol oxidation, etc. © 2012 by American Scientific Publishers.