Nanoporous Gold: From an Ancient Technology to a High-Tech Material

High-surface-area materials have recently attracted significant interest due to potential applications in various fields such as electrochemistry and catalysis, gas-phase catalysis, optics, sensors and actuators, energy harvesting and storage. In contrast to classical materials the properties of high-surface-area materials are no longer determined by their bulk, but by their nanoscale architecture. Nanoporous gold (np-Au) represents the fascinating class of mesoporous metals that have been intensively investigated in recent years. The current interest and the increasing number of scientific publications show that np-Au by itself is an outstanding nano-material that justifies a book devoted to all aspects of its properties and applications. The resulting publication is a discussion of this unique nano-material and is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the field. The book provides a broad, multi-disciplinary platform to learn more about the properties of nanoporous gold from an inter-disciplinary perspective. It starts with an introduction and overview of state-of-the-art applications and techniques characterizing this material and its applications. It then covers the progress in research within the last years. The chapters are in-depth overviews written by the world's leading scientists in the particular field. Each chapter covers one technique or application so that the reader can easily target their favoured topic and will get the latest and state-of-the-art information in the field.