Substrate-Enhanced Electroless Deposition of Metal Nanoparticles on Carbon

Carbon nanotubes have been demonstrated to possess excellent electronic properties, a good chemical stability, and a large surface area.1 These unique properties make carbon nanotubes very useful for supporting metal nanoparticles in many potential applications, ranging from advanced catalytic systems through very sensitive electrochemical sensors to highly efficient fuel cells.2 Consequently, functionalization of carbon nanotubes with metal nanoparticles has received ever-increasing interest in recent years, and a few interesting routes have now been devised for either covalently or noncovalently attaching certain metal nanoparticles onto carbon nanotubes.3-7 Examples include chemical binding through DNA double-helix linkages,3 electrochemical deposition,4 electroless deposition with and without the aid of reducing agents,5,6 and physical/chemical deposition on carbon nanotubes with and without surface activation.2a,7 Among them, the electroless deposition is o