No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2011
Platinum (Pt) nanoparticles were prepared on a glassy carbon plate by a sputtering method and then irradiated with proton (H+) beams at energies of 0.38 and 10 MeV at room temperature. Cyclic voltammetry in an aqueous 0.5 mol/dm3 H2SO4 solution suggested that the lower-energy beam irradiation enhanced the active surface area of the Pt nanoparticles, calculated from the coulombic charge for hydrogen desorption. Thus, the nanoparticles would be modified by H+ beam-induced electronic excitation so that they have higher surface activity. The mechanism of this irradiation effect seems to be rather complicated and is still unclear at present, but we may discuss it in relation to a change in the interfacial crystal structure during the irradiation.