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This article presents a systematic study of the formation and thermal stability of Pt oxide species on sizeselected Pt nanoparticles (NPs) supported on SiO 2 , ZrO 2 , and TiO 2 thin films. The studies were carried out in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) by temperature-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements and ex situ transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The NPs were synthesized by inverse micelle encapsulation and oxidized in UHV at room temperature by an oxygen plasma treatment. For a given particle size distribution, the role played by the NP support on the stability of Pt oxides was analyzed. PtO 2 species are formed on all supports investigated after O 2 -plasma exposure. A two-step thermal decomposition (PtO 2 f PtO f Pt) is observed from 300 to 600 K upon annealing in UHV. The stability of oxidized Pt species was found to be enhanced on ZrO 2 under annealing treatments in O 2 . Strong NP/support interactions and the formation of Pt-Ti-O alloys are detected for Pt/TiO 2 upon annealing in UHV above 550 K but not under an identical treatment in O 2 . Furthermore, thermal treatments in both environments above 700 K lead to the encapsulation of Pt by TiO x . The final shape of the micellar Pt NPs is influenced by the type of underlying support as well as by the post-deposition treatment. Spherical Pt NPs are stable on SiO 2 , ZrO 2 , and TiO 2 after in situ ligand removal with atomic oxygen at RT. However, annealing in UHV at 1000 K leads to NP flattening on ZrO 2 and to the diffusion of Pt NPs into TiO 2 . The stronger the nature of the NP/support interaction, the more dramatic is the change in the NP shape (TiO 2 > ZrO 2 > SiO 2 ).

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The structural and optical properties of erbium-doped silicon-rich silica samples containing 12 at. % of excess silicon and 0.63 at. % of erbium are studied as a function of annealing temperature in the range 600-1200°C. Indirect excitation of Er 3+ ions is shown to be present for all annealing temperatures, including annealing temperatures well below 1000°C for which no silicon nanocrystals are observed. Two distinct efficient ͑ tr Ͼ 60% ͒ transfer mechanisms responsible for Er 3+ excitation are identified: a fast transfer process ͑ tr Ͻ 80 ns͒ involving isolated luminescence centers ͑LCs͒, and a slow transfer process ͑ tr ϳ 4 -100 s͒ involving excitation by quantum confined excitons inside Si nanocrystals. The LC-mediated excitation is shown to be the dominant excitation mechanism for all annealing temperatures. The presence of a LC-mediated excitation process is deduced from the observation of an annealing-temperature-independent Er 3+ excitation rate, a strong similarity between the LC and Er 3+ excitation spectra, as well as an excellent correspondence between the observed LC-related emission intensity and the derived Er 3+ excitation density for annealing temperatures in the range of 600-1000°C. The proposed interpretation provides an alternative explanation for several observations existing in the literature.

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