Facile and rapid synthesis of Pd nanodendrites for electrocatalysis and surface-enhanced Raman scattering applications

Numerous properties from metal nanostructures can be tuned by controlling both their size and shape. In<br>particular, the latter is extremely important because the type of crystalline surface affects the surface<br>electronic density. This paper describes a simple approach to the synthesis of highly-structured,<br>anisotropic palladium nanostructured dendrites. They were obtained using an eco-friendly biomolecule<br>5-hydroxytryptophan, which acts as both a reducing and stabilizing agent. The growth mechanism is<br>proposed for the evolution of dendrites morphology. It was found that the concentration of 5-<br>hydroxytryptophan played a vital role on the morphology of the nanostructured Pd dendrites. This<br>nanomaterial shows enhanced electrocatalytic performance towards the oxidation of formic acid, and it<br>exhibits surface-enhanced Raman scattering properties towards the prostate specific antigen. These<br>properties may be explored in fuel cells and biosensors, respectively