Synthesis of PtCo nanoflowers and its catalytic activity towards nitrobenzene hydrogenation

Novel PtCo nanoflowers were synthesized using oleylamine-oleic acid system via one-pot chemical reaction. The difference in morphology with different amount of oleic acid revealed that the formation of the PtCo nanoflowers was attributed to the precipitation effect of oleic acid both in nucleation stage and growth process. The obtained PtCo nanoflowers show excellent performance in catalytic hydrogenation of nitrobenzene , when compared with PtCo nanoparticles and commercial Pt/C. The high activity is attributed to the porous structure formed by assembling of smaller nanoparticles and electron interaction of Co to Pt.