A low-temperature synthesis of electrochemical active Pt nanoparticles and thin films by atomic layer deposition on Si(111) and glassy carbon surfaces

•Pure Pt films were grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using MeCpPtMe3 and ozone.•ALD-grown Pt thin films had high growth rates of 110 pm/cycle.•ALD-grown Pt films were electrocatalytic for hydrogen evolution from water.•Electrocatalytic activity of the ALD Pt films was equivalent to e-beam deposited Pt.•No carbon species were detected in the ALD-grown Pt films.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to deposit nanoparticles and thin films of Pt onto etched p-type Si(111) wafers and glassy carbon discs. Using precursors of MeCpPtMe3 and ozone and a temperature window of 200–300 °C, the growth rate was 80–110 pm/cycle. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the composition, structure, morphology, and thickness of the ALD-grown Pt nanoparticle films. The catalytic activity of the ALD-grown Pt for the hydrogen evolution reaction was shown to be equivalent to that of e-beam evaporated Pt on glassy carbon electrode.