Synthesis of Platinum Nanoparticles Stabilized in Polyvinyl Alcohol and Their Electrocatalytic Properties

A facile chemical strategy for the one-step synthesis of platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) is demonstrated in this paper. Pt nanoparticles were prepared using chemical reduction in NaBH4 and were capped in a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) colloidal suspension. The morphology and structure of as-synthesized Pt nanoparticles are characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicated that the Pt nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (2–4 nm) were highly crystalline in nature. In addition, the electrochemical properties and the electrocatalytic activities of Pt nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode (GC) were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The experiments yielded evidence that Pt nanoparticles facilitated hydrogen peroxide reduction, and exhibited favorable electrooxidation activity towards NADH and methanol, showing excellent catalytic activity, and holding a good promise in catalytic and bioanalytical applications.