Yolk@Shell Nanoarchitectures with Bimetallic Nanocores–Synthesis and Electrocatalytic Applications

In the present paper, we demonstrate a versatile approach for the one-pot synthesis of metal oxide yolk@shell nanostructures filled with bimetallic nanocores. This novel approach is based on the principles of hydrophobic nanoreactor soft-templating and is exemplified for the synthesis of various AgAuNP@tin-rich ITO (AgAu@ITOTR) yolk@shell nanomaterials. Hydrophobic nanoreactor soft-templating thereby takes advantage of polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpiridine) inverse micelles as two-compartment nanoreactor template, in which the core and the shell of the micelles serve as metal and metal oxide precursor reservoir, respectively. The composition, size and number of AuAg bimetallic nanoparticles incorporated within the ITOTR yolk@shell can easily be tuned. The conductivity of the ITOTR shell and the bimetallic composition of the AuAg nanoparticles, the as-synthesized AuAgNP@ITOTR yolk@shell materials could be used as efficient electrocatalysts for electrochemical glucose oxidation with improved onset potential when compared to their gold counterpart.