Electrochemical Fabrication of Cubic-Shaped Pt Nanoparticles onto Carbon Fiber Electrodes

Abstract

Cubic-shaped Pt nanoparticles have been deposited on carbon fiber (CF) electrode surfaces directly by two electrochemical techniques, namely, potential cycling and stepping in an aqueous solution of 1 mM K₂PtCl₄ and 0.1 M H₂SO₄ containing 1 mM NaI. It is shown that both nucleation and growth processes of the Pt phase formation on the CF surfaces were extensively suppressed by the strong interaction between Pt surface and I⁻ anions. Consequently, this has lead to the formation of the highly dispersed preferentially cubic-shaped Pt nanoparticles.