Understanding the formation of nanocomposites consisting of silver sulfide and platinum hollow nanostructures

Structural conversion using core-shell silver (Ag)-platinum (Pt) nanoparticles as starting materials is a promising way to produce nanocomposites consisting of silver sulfide (Ag2S) and hollow Pt nanostructures (Ag2S-hPtNCs). However, the mechanism behind the structural conversion process is yet to be understood. In this study, we use transmission electron microscope (TEM) as a typical tool to characterize the products formed in different structural conversion processes, and interpret the experimental observations by proposing mechanisms behind the reactions between core-shell Ag-Pt nanoparticles and sulfur precursors from different sources. We then design additional experiments to rationalize the formation mechanism we proposed. The mechanistic understanding of the structural conversion from bimetallic core-shell nanostructures to heterogeneous nanocomposites may extend the fabrication of heterogeneous nanocomposites for a given technological application