Organometallic Pt precursor on graphite substrate: deposition from SC CO2, reduction and morphology transformation as revealed by SFM

Organometallic Pt precursor was deposited on model highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrate from solutions in supercritical carbon dioxide. Morphology transformations during reduction process including real-time observations were studied by scanning force microscopy (SFM). We confirmed that SC CO2 is a promising mediator in deposition process even for rather hydrophobic supports. SFM data show that thermal decomposition of the PtMe2(COD) precursor with subsequent hydrogen post-treatment allows one to obtain rather pure and well-defined Pt nanoparticles with average height above a substrate level of 4.5 ± 0.6 nm.