Platinum nanoparticles ion-implanted-modified indium tin oxide electrode for electrocatalytic oxidation of formaldehyde

•A novel process for the fabrication of a platinum-nanoparticle-modified electrode using ion implantation.•The PtNPs/ITO electrode exhibits high electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of formaldehyde.•The PtNPs/ITO electrode shows high stability.

A facile and low-cost method is developed to ion implant platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) onto indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. This modified electrode is eco-friendly without the use of any linking chemicals. The PtNPs formed on the electrode are in the zero-valent metallic state with a size distribution in the range of 5–12 nm. The modified electrode surface becomes smoother after platinum ion implantation and the PtNPs formed on the electrode. Electrochemical performances are measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometric. The PtNPs/ITO electrode shows prominent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of formaldehyde with long-term stability, which could be useful in fuel cells.