Structural and electrochemical characterisation of Pt and Pd nanoparticles electrodeposited at the liquid/liquid interface: part 2.

This report discusses some specific mechanistic and structural factors that govern the deposition of palladium and platinum from chloro-complexes at the electrified liquid/liquid interface. Factors studied here include: the age of the platinum solution, reactant depletion effects due to the formation of particles, and the previously noted phenomenon that the platinum particles created at the ITIES are smaller than their palladium counterparts, which is at variance with expectations based on the surface energies of the metals. A preliminary investigation is also made of co-deposition of Pt-Pd at the ITIES. This report builds on the previous publication (Part I) describing the reduction of these metals at the liquid/liquid interface and gives further insight into the factors controlling the interfacial reduction of metals in the absence of an underlying electrode.