Preparation and characterization of ultraflat Pt facets by atom-height-resolved differential optical microscopy

M. Azhagurajan, R. Wen, Y. G. Kim, T. Itoh, K. Sashikata, K. Itaya

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We recently demonstrated that improvements to our technique, laser confocal microscopy with differential interference microscopy (LCM-DIM), has rendered it fully capable of resolving monatomic steps with heights of ca. 0.25 nm on Au(111) and Pd(111) surfaces, even as low as 0.14 nm on Si(100), in aqueous solution. In this paper, we describe in detail a method to prepare and characterize, via atomic-layer-resolved LCM-DIM, ultraflat Pt(111) and Pt(100) facets over a wide surface area. The preparation of ultraflat surfaces is important in the characterization at the atomic scale of electrochemical processes under reaction conditions. To showcase the elegance of LCM-DIM, the anodic dissolution of Pt in aqueous HCl is briefly recounted.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)57-62
Number of pages6
JournalSurface Science
Volume631
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015 Jan

Keywords

  • Laser confocal microscopy with the differential interference microscopy (LCM-DIM)
  • Pt single crystal
  • Ultraflat surfaces

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