The control of the growth of Pt clusters in solution: A way to prepare Pt particles of tailored size

The growth of Pt particles in mesitylene-solvated metal atoms, obtained by metal vapour synthesis (MVS), has been followed at two temperatures (-40 and 25 degrees C) by NMR DOSY technique. The addition of 1,3-divinyltetramethyldisiloxane (DVS) at different time allows to quench the growth process and to make the resulting thermally stable solutions suitable for the evaluation of the Pt particles size at that moment. These solutions can be conveniently used to prepare supported Pt systems containing Pt particles of tailored size. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.