Study of the surface morphology of platinum thin films on powdery substrates prepared by the barrel sputtering system

The transition of Pt from a nanoparticle to a film on SiO2 particles modified by the sputtering system with barrel-type powder sample holder (the barrel sputtering system). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements reveal that the Pt nanoparticles grow in size with an increase in the duration of sputter deposition. The morphology of Pt changes from highly dispersed nanoparticles to a worm-like structure followed by a continuous Pt film, depending on the amount of Pt modified. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements reveal that the thin Pt film in the worm-like structure has a uniform thickness of approximately 2.6 nm, indicating film growth in a two-dimensional mode followed by an island mode. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.