Kinetic study and growth behavior of template-based electrodeposited platinum nanotubes controlled by overpotential

Abstract

Platinum nanotubes (PtNTs) are fabricated by potentiostatic electrodeposition at various overpotentials (−200 up to −400 mV versus SCE) in polycarbonate templates (PCTs) with pore diameter of 200 nm in a solution containing 5 mM H2PtCl6 and 0.1 M H2SO4. The synthesized PtNTs are characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical growth mechanism within nanoscopic pores and the relationship between morphological variations and kinetic parameters are investigated for the first time. It is shown that more porous structure of nanotubes forms at high overpotentials possibly due to preferably nucleation. The kinetics of electrodeposition process is studied by electrochemical techniques such as voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The linear diffusion coefficient at the early stage of the deposition and the radial diffusion coefficients at steady state regime are calculated as D = 8.39 × 10−5 and 2.33–13.26 × 10−8 cm2/s, respectively. The synthesized PtNT electrode is tested as electrocatalyst for hydrogen peroxide oxidation in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) and shows a sensitivity as high as 2.89 mA per 1 μM that is an indication to its enlarged electrochemical surface area.