Platinum microelectrodes with unique high surface areas

Nanostructured platinum films were electrodeposited onto microelectrodes from an hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystalline plating mixture. Cyclic voltammetry in dilute sulfuric acid and copper underpotential deposition confirmed that the resulting platinum films had high surface areas (with roughness factors of ca. 210) as a direct consequence of their electrochemically accessible nanostructure. The microelectrodes were shown to combine a high real surface area with efficient mass transport characteristics. This combination of properties is unique and may be of significance to the fields of electrochemistry and electroanalysis.