Room temperature photo-induced deposition of platinum mirrors and nano-layers from simple Pt(ii) precursor complexes in water–methanol solutions

Abstract

Pure platinum mirror-like nano-layers (200–500 nm thick) can reproducibly be deposited onto conductive FTO glass (as well as other substrates) by a remarkably simple photo-induced method at room temperature (20 ± 3 °C) from a simple Pt(II) precursor in aqueous solution. Such Pt mirrors may be prepared by controlled illumination with intense polychromatic white light from a 5 W (4000 K) LED light source of a dilute solution containing 1 mM K₂[PtCl₄] precursor salt, dissolved in water/methanol solutions. By contrast, the use of [PtCl₆]²⁻ as a precursor does not lead to stable Pt mirror formation under similar conditions. Preliminary ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR results indicate that the chemical speciation of the precursor Pt(II) complexes plays a critical role in this photo-induced Pt nano-layer formation.