The present work focuses on the electro-deposition and characterization of Pd/Pt(hkl) nanofilms and on their properties concerning hydrogen storage. The effects of the nanometric size, of the thickness and of the substrate’s orientation have been studied.Comparing Pd/Pt(111) and Pd/Pt(100) films, distinct features were observed either in the electrodeposition curve or in the electrochemical and ex situ AFM characterizations. Pd/Pt(100) deposits have shown the presence of an UPD process up to two layers, which is a quite uncommon phenomenon. Thicker films show the presence of square based pyramids, following the substrate’s (100) orientation. On the contrary, only the first layer is Under Potentially Deposited in Pd/Pt(111) films and the deposit presents a pseudomorphic character up to about 10 complete layers.Hydrogen absorption into the Pd/Pt(100) nanofilms was studied following a “classical” method in sulphuric acid medium. We have developed a new method using the hanging meniscus rotating disk electrode (HMRDE) to measure the hydrogen insertion into ultra-thin Pd/Pt(111) films, where H insertion and HER (Hydrogen Evolution Reaction) are not well separated. The hydrogen insertion isotherms present some common points between the two studied systems, like smaller value of the maximum hydrogen insertion rate (H/Pd)max compared to bulk Pd, value which decreases with the decrease of the thickness. The two-phase region width decreases with film thickness as well and presents a slope. Such slope has been attribtued to the presence of non-equivalent insertion sites due to substrate induced constraints. Nevertheless, for Pd/Pt(100) the slope is less pronounced and (H/Pd)max value decreases more rapidly with thickness. Its value in correspondence of Pd5ML/Pt(100) is only slightly higher than the αmax insertion rate of bulk Pd.
