Single-crystalline octahedral Au-Ag nanoframes

We report the formation of single-crystalline octahedral Au-Ag nanoframes by a modified galvanic replacement reaction. Upon sequential addition of AgNO ₃, CuCl, and HAuCl ₄ to octadecylamine solution, truncated polyhedral silver nanoparticles formed first and then changed into octahedral Au-Ag nanoframes, without requiring a conventional Ag removal step with additional oxidation etchant. The nanoframes have 12 sides, and all of the eight {111} faces are empty. The side grows along the [110] direction, and the diameter is less than 10 nm. The selective gold deposition on the high-energy (110) surface, the diffusion, and the selective redeposition of Au and Ag atoms are the key reasons for the formation of octahedral nanoframes.