Optical study of platinum-modified amorphous carbon

Abstract

Films of amorphous carbon a-C and a platinum-modified amorphous carbon composite a-C-Pt, produced by magnetron sputtering in a wide range of thicknesses and modifying platinum concentrations in the optimal mode for the catalytic activity of a-C-Pt, have been studied by ellipsometry, and FTIR and Raman spectroscopies. It is demonstrated that (i) platinum clusters are incorporated into the system of graphene planes of amorphous carbon without any significant transformation of the carbon structure itself and (ii) an increase in the amount of modifying platinum in an a-C-Pt film leads to a decrease in the size of graphene clusters.