Electrocatalytic (Bio)Nanostructures Based on Polymer-Grafted Platinum Nanoparticles for Analytical Purpose.

Functionalized platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) possess electrocatalytic properties toward H2O2 oxidation, which are of great interest for the construction of electrochemical oxidoreductase-based sensors. In this context, we have shown that polymer-grafted PtNPs could efficiently be used as building bricks for electroactive structures. In the present work, we prepared different 2D-nanostructures based on these elementary bricks, followed by the subsequent grafting of enzymes.

Spatial confinement of electromagnetic hot and cold spots in gold nanocubes.

We report a near-field imaging study of colloidal gold nanocubes. This is accomplished through a photochemical imaging method in which molecular displacements are vectorial in nature, enabling sensitivity to the polarization of the optical near-field of the nanocubes. We analyze the confinement of both electromagnetic hot and "cold" spots with a resolution of λ/35 and emphasize the particularly high spatial confinement of cold spots.

Polymer-grafted-platinum nanoparticles: from three-dimensional small-angle neutron scattering study to tunable two-dimensional array formation.

Nanohybrid objects based on polymer and platinum nanoparticles are of great interest for applications in fuel cells or as biosensors. The polymer part can help first to stabilize and to organize the particles, second to increase the amount of chemical functions available in the organic corona, and, finally, to improve or to mask the properties of the particles. The method to introduce the polymer consists of using both the "grafting from" technique and controlled radical polymerization (atom transfer radical polymerization).