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  Munoz, A.G. ; Lewerenz, H.J.: Platinum deposition onto silicon single-crystal surfaces II. Mechanistic aspects of the growth of Pt islands. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 156 (2009), p. D242-D247

10.1149/1.3133185

Abstract:
The chemical and morphological surface transformations accompanying the deposition of Pt from H2PtCl6 solutions onto hydrogen-terminated n-Si(111) surfaces were investigated in Part I [J. Electrochem. Soc., 155, D527 (2008)]. In this second part, an analysis of the nucleation and growth mechanisms of Pt islands is presented. Oxidized surface atoms act as preferential sites for the nucleation of nanoislands, introducing surface states that facilitate the electron transfer. A potential-independent hole injection into the valence band drives surface etching, which leads to an increasing number of nucleation sites. The energy level of the surface states above the redox level of the hydrogen evolution leads to a strong hydrogen evolution accompanying the nucleation and growth of Pt particles at low nucleation overpotentials.