Mesoporous platinum coating on quartz fibres by soft-templated electroless deposition

Abstract

We report a soft-templated electroless deposition strategy for the fabrication of mesoporous platinum films on quartz fibres (mPt@QF). Surface functionalization with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) promotes nucleation and adhesion of Pt on the non-conductive fibres. The resulting mPt@QF exhibits well-defined mesoporous morphology, tunable thickness, robust adhesion, and remarkable thermal stability up to 350 °C. Morphological characterisation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals mesoporous structures with pore diameters of 10–20 nm, while small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) confirms short-range ordering consistent with micelle-templated formation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicates metallic Pt species are present and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) results on the mPt coating demonstrate the polycrystalline nature of the mesoporous Pt network. Extension to conductive carbon paper illustrates the versatility of this approach. This electroless method overcomes the limitations of conventional electrochemical deposition, enabling mesoporous metal coatings on non-conductive and complex three-dimensional substrates, expanding opportunities for catalysis, sensing, and energy applications.