Synthesis of platinum nanoparticle chains based on α-chymotrpsin fibrils

Pt nanoparticle chains (PtNPCS) with diameter ranging from 15-20 nm and length to micrometers were fabricated using α-chymotrpsin amyloid fibrils (α-CTAFS) as a sacrificial template. The PtNPCs can be simply obtained by reducing the salt precursors using two different reducing agents, borane-dimethyl-amine complex (DMAB) and sodium borohydride (NaBH4), in aqueous environment. Electrochemical measurements were used to study the properties of the PtNPCs that achieved from different reducing ways. Results indicates that DMAB is a facile reducing agent to prepare PtNPCs with a more uniform particle size and higher catalytic activity on methanol oxidation (MOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) than that obtained by using NaBH4 as reductant.