Liquid crystal phase templated mesoporous platinum alloy

The reduction of metal salts dissolved in the aqueous domains of the lyotropic liquid crystalline phases of surfactants provides a versatile route to a range of mesoporous metals with aligned pore systems having a high degree of spatial periodicity. Here we report that the co-reduction of binary mixtures of metal compounds dissolved in the hexagonal phase of a non-ionic surfactant leads to bimetallic alloy powders that have a long-ranged porous nanostructure and high specific surface areas. These results indicate that the use of liquid crystalline reaction mixtures could provide a new route to alloys of importance for applications in catalysis