Gold-Autocatalyzed Synthesis of Multi-Element Nanoparticles.

The incorporation of multiple metal elements into a nanoparticle without phase separation holds promise for versatile applications, yet a facile synthetic strategy is lacking. Herein, a simple and facile approach is presented, i.e., gold-autocatalyzed synthesis, in which multiple miscible or immiscible metal elements are incorporated into single-phase nanoparticles at atmospheric pressure and temperature. This study reveals the autocatalytic reduction behavior of gold and the corresponding growth process of multi-element alloy nanoparticles. The mechanism of autocatalytic synthetic reactions is revealed on the basis of molecular orbitals. Furthermore, quinary multi-element nanoparticles were prepared and applied as high-performance electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline electrolytes (with overpotentials of 24 and 42 mV to deliver 10 and 100 mA cm, respectively) to demonstrate the application of this strategy. This strategy enables the synthesis of multi-element materials with high tolerance of synthetic conditions for versatile applications.