Synthesis of nanorattles composed of gold nanoparticles encapsulated in mesoporous carbon and polymer

Abstract

In this research, two kinds of new spherical silica templates were fabricated. A new silica template has sub-micrometer sized solid core and mesoporous shell (SCMS) structure. The other has nanorattle structure, that is solid core containing an encapsulated Au nanoparticle surrounded by a mesoporous shell structure (Au@SCMS). Hollow spherical carbon and polymer capsules, containing an encapsulated Au nanoparticle or without encapsulated Au nanoparticle, were synthesized using these silica templates. A role of template is important to obtain a particular morphology and pore structure. The resulting carbon capsules inversely replicated the structure of the silica template and contained uniform pores with a narrow pore size distribution. These carbon capsules exhibited a BET surface area of >1000 m2 g-1 and a total pore volume of >1.0 cm3 g-1. In addition, hollow polymer capsules having a well-defined pore size were fabricated using a similar synthetic procedure. These polymer capsules exhibited a BET surface area of > 450 m2 g-1 and a total pore volume of > 0.45 cm3 g-1. The diameter of the hollow core and the mesoporous shell thickness of the capsules could easily be controlled using appropriate silica materials as templates.