Spontaneous deposition of Pt-nanoparticles on HOPG surfaces

Abstract

Platinum nanoparticles were obtained on glassy carbon (GC) by spontaneous deposition in a 1 mM H2PtCl6 + 0.5 M H2SO4 solution. The structures obtained were characterized using AFM, SEM and cyclic voltammetry in order to study their catalytic activity. AFM imaging shows hemispherical Pt nanoparticles distributed mainly on the polish lines, changing in size with the increasing of time. SEM images showed Pt nanoparticles on the entire exposed surface with different shapes and sizes, in both AFM and SEM dendritic structures were also found, the EDX analysis revealed only the presence of C, O and Pt on the surface. The electrochemical characterization showed an increase in current density with the immersion time and at longer immersion times the voltammetric response was similar to polycrystalline Pt.