Formation of silica-supported platinum nanoparticles as a function of preparation conditions and boron impregnation.

Preparation of supported metal nanoparticles for catalytic applications often relies on an assumption that the initially prepared wet-impregnated support material is covered with approximately a monolayer of adsorbed species that are shaped into the target nanoparticulate material with a desired size distribution by utilizing appropriate post-treatments that often include calcination and reduction schemes. Here, the formation and evolution of surface nanoparticles were investigated for wet-chemistry deposition of platinum from trimethyl(methylcyclopentadienyl)platinum (IV) precursor onto flat silica supports to interrogate the factors influencing the initial stages of nanoparticle formation. The deposition was performed on silicon-based substrates, including hydroxylated silica (SiO