Tailoring the Optical and Catalytic Properties of Gold-Silver Nanoboxes and Nanocages by Introducing Palladium

Nanoboxes and nanocages consisting of three noble metals–Pd, Au, and Ag–are synthesized through the use of sequential galvanic replacement reactions. In addition to their tunable plasmonic properties, these nanostructures catalyze hydrogenation reactions, such as the decolorization of methyl red. Both the plasmonic and catalytic properties are dependent on the order at which the salt precursors were added for the replacement reactions.