Thermal Stability of Gold/Palladium Octopods Studied in Situ in 3D: Understanding Design Rules for Thermally Stable Metal Nanoparticles.

Multifunctional metal nanoparticles (NPs) such as anisotropic multimetallic NPs are crucial for boosting nanomaterial-based applications. Advanced synthetic protocols exist to make a large variety of such nanostructures. However, a major limiting factor for the usability of them in real life applications is their stability. Here, we show that Au/Pd octopods, eight-branched nanocrystals with O h symmetry, with only a low amount of Pd exhibited a high thermal stability and maintained strong plasmon resonances up to 600 °C. Furthermore, we study the influence of the composition, morphology, and environment on the thermal stability and define key parameters for the design of thermally stable multifunctional NPs.