Patent ID: 7700520

Claim:
Methods to prepare platinum and platinum alloy catalysts on supports, wherein the starting or structure-directing material is organic polymer nanospheres and the nanospheres are first dispersed on a support surface forming a compact, layered structure of a monolayer or a few layers through a self-assembly process, and platinum or platinum alloy catalyst is then formed and filled in the void spaces of the layered structure by chemical reduction from an aqueous solution containing metal ions or by vacuum ion-sputtering, and the starting material is then removed by means of burning or chemical dissolution to obtain said platinum and platinum alloy catalysts, characterized in that the polymer nanospheres include polystyrene nanospheres and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanospheres having diameters ranging from 50 nanometers to several micrometers, wherein said metal ions filled in the void spaces of the layered structure are dried using infrared irradiation or other heating methods, followed by hydrogen reduction at high temperatures (<300° C.).