High-Pressure Behavior of Nano-Pt in Hydrogen Environment*

We choose nano-Pt in hydrogen environment to explore the size effect on the formation of metal hydrides. At 30 GPa, a phase transition in the metal lattice from the cubic to hexagonal phase is observed characterized by a drastically increased volume per metal atom, indicating the formation of PtH-P63 /mmc. We find that nano-Pt could form PtH at a lower pressure than the bulk Pt due to its high specific surface and structure defects. The present work provides the possible route to new metal hydrides under mild conditions.