Use of Laser-Directed Chemical Vapor Deposition to Fabricate Durable, Optically Transparent, Platinum Thin Film Electrodes

We report on the use of a novel organometallic precursor for laser-directed chemical vapor deposition of platinum films. We demonstrate heir optical transparency and their bulk-platinum-like electrochemical response. The effects of moderate temperature annealing in oxygen and electrochemical cycling in H2SO4 on their electrochemical and optical properties are related. Based on the appearance ofscanning electron micrographs and their enhanced transparency, these films would seem to be similar to those produced by photoelectrodeposition. Highly transparent, electrically conducting metal films and microstructures would seem to be ideal for directly using UV-visible (1) and infrared spectroscopy (2) to study and exploit electrochemical, catalytic, charge transfer, photochemical, and mechanical processes at electrode/ metal surfaces. Because it's electrochemical and catalytic properties are well documented, platinum wasthe metal of choice for our initial studies of light transmitting elec-trodes. In this paper we describe the preparation f suit