Hierarchical Bimetallic AgPt Nanoferns as High-Performance Catalysts for Selective Acetone Hydrogenation to Isopropanol

A combinative effect of two or more individual material properties, such as lattice parameters and chemical properties, has been well-known to generate novel nanomaterials with special crystal growth behavior and physico-chemical performance. This paper reports unusually high catalytic performance of AgPt nanoferns in the hydrogenation reaction of acetone conversion to isopropanol, which is several orders higher compared to the performance shown by pristine Pt nanocatalysts or other metals and metal-metal oxide hybrid catalyst systems. It has been demonstrated that the combinative effect during the bimetallisation of Ag and Pt produced nanostructures with a highly anisotropic morphology, i.e., hierarchical nanofern structures, which provide high-density active sites on the catalyst surface for an efficient catalytic reaction. The extent of the effect of structural growth on the catalytic performance of hierarchical AgPt nanoferns is discussed.