Direct deposition of nanostructured Pt particles onto a Ni foam from lyotropic liquid crystalline phase by displacement plating

Nanostructured Pt particles are directly deposited onto a Ni foam by utilizing displacement plating after a lyotropic liquid crystalline phase including Pt species was prepared within macropores of the Ni foam. The EDS mapping of Pt after deposition corresponds to the macroscopic framework of the Ni foam, indicating the uniform displacement plating of Pt on the surface of the Ni foam. The Pt particles of 150–250 nm in size are formed over the entire area of the surface of the Ni foam. The TEM images prove that the nanoscale rods (width: about 3 nm) are aggregated with each other to form nanoscale porosity. The active area of Pt can be estimated to be ca. 12 m2/g by using the cyclic voltammogram in sulfuric acid. Our method realizes one-step production of hierarchical macro–meso type porous electrodes.